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http://www.archive.org/details/fishinginamericaOOscotrich 


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FISHING 


IN 


AMERICAN    WATERS. 


By   GENIO   C.  SCOTT. 


^VITH  ONE  HUNDRED  AND   SEVENTY  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


'Give  me,  Great  Father,  give  me  strength  and  heahh, 

A  hberal  heart,  afifections  kind  and  free ; 
My  rod— my  line— be  these  my  pride,  my  weaUh  ! 
They  yield  me  present  joys — they  draw  ray  soul  to  Thee." 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 


FRANK  T.  IN     SQUARE. 


1869. 


|; 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

Genio   C.«  Scott, 

In  the  Clerk's  OflBce  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


5  3^ 


TO 


THE   AMERICAN   ASSOCIATIONS 

FOR   THE   PROTECTION   OF 

FISH,  GAME,  AND  BIRDS  OF  SONG, 

THIS  BOOK  IS  RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


)gc-^>4v 


M842776 


PREFACE. 


As  it  might  not  be  deemed  kind  in  me  to  inflict  upon  the 
reader  mj  thousand  reasons  for  writing  and  ilhistrating  this 
book  with  pencil  sketches  copied  from  life,  1  will  therefore 
merely  state  that  my  experience  of  many  years  in  the  prac- 
tice of  the  gentle  art,  which  has  led  me  through  so  many 
scenes  of  beauty  and  loveliness,  has  made  me  wish  that 
all  the  world  might  learn  the  enjoyment  conferred  by  the 
practice  of  angling. 

I  have  endeavored  to  portray  the  recreations  of  the  an- 
gler in  America,  with  his  implements  and  his  game ;  add- 
ing a  small  tribute  to  the  temperate  and  industrious  class 
of  men  who  follow  for  a  livelihood  the  hazardous  business 
of  fishing  on  the  broad  seas. 

An  outline  of  the  progress  of  fish-culture  in  Europe  and 
America  is  also  given,  with  pencil  sketches  illustrative  of 
the  art  of  hatching  and  rearing  fishes,  including  stairs  and 
fish-passes  for  enabling  fishes  to  surmount  mill-dams  and 
falls. 

The  fishes  of  our  coast  and  estuaries,  and  the  peculiar 
methods  adopted  for  their  capture,  form  not  (fnly  a  sealed 
book  to  Europeans,  but  to  those  anglers  in  America  also 
who  confine  their  recreations  to  fresh-water  attractions. 
Each  game  fish  affords  a  distinct  interest,  with  peculiarities 
worth  studying. 

My  sketches  may  lack  artistic  finish,  but  possess  the 
merit  of  correct  outline;  and  in  the  words  of  Raphael, 
"  The  outline  is  the  picture."  The  reader  may  be  assured 
that  fishing,  whether  for  recreation  or  gain,  entices  its  vo- 
taries to  unexplored  sources  of  revenue  and  pleasure. 


viii  Preface. 

I  am  under  compliment  to  the  following  gentlemen : 

Francis  Fran<3is,  of  "The  Field,"  author  of  "Fish-cul- 
ture," and  "  A  Book  on  Angling,"  has  contributed  valuable 
suggestions,  which  I  am  pleased  to  acknowledge. 

Isaac  M'Lellan.  To  this  accomplished  poet  I  am  in- 
debted for  contributing  original  verses  to  head  my  descrip- 
tions of  several  among  our  most  important  fishes. 

Thomas  Tod  Stoddart,  whose  "Angler's  Companion"  has 
afforded  me  both  information  and  pleasure. 

Emile  Blan  chard.  Member  of  the  Institute  and  Professor 
of  Natural  History,  Paris. 

James  Pennie,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Zoology,  King's  Col- 
lege, London. 

Walter  Brackett,  Artist,  Boston,  contributed  the  Brook 
Trout  and  Whitefish. 

J.  B.  Stearns,  Brookl}Ti,  E.  D.  Frontispiece  of  a  Striped 
Basfc,  photographed  from  a  picture  painted  by  him. 

Seth  Green,  Mumf ord,  N.  Y.     Fish-culture. 

Stephen  H.  Ainsworth,  West  Bloomfield,  JS".  Y.  ^^atural 
Spawning  Race. 

Middleton,  Carman,  &  Co.,  Fulton  Market.  Statistics  of 
Fishes. 

Gilbei-t  Comstock,  Fulton  Market — wholesale  depart- 
ment.    Fisheries  Statistics. 

Andrew  Olerk  &  Co.,  Maiden  Lane.  Samples  of  supe- 
rior Flies  and  Split  Bamboo  Rods. 

Pritchard  Brothers,  Fulton  Street.  Artificial  Flies  and . 
fine  Bass-reel. 

Mr.  M'Bride,  Mumford,  N.  Y.  Fine  Tro.ut-flies  and 
Stained  Gut  Lines. 

John  Shields,  Brookline,  Mass.  Specimens  of  excellent 
Trout-flies. 


CONTENTS. 


PART   L 

COAST  AND  ESTUAKY  FISHING  WITH  ROD  AND  LINE. 

s«..»                                   CHAPTEK  I.  ^ 

I.  General  Characterization  of  Fishes 17 

II.  Prerequisites  for  Fishing 22 

III.  General  Habits  and  Senses  of  Fishes 24 

IV.  On  Vision  in  Fishes 26 

V.  On  Taste  in  Fishes 33 

VI.  On  Smell  in  Fishes 36 

VII.  On  Hearing  in  Fishes 38 

CHAPTER  II. 

I.  Fecundity  of  Fishes 41 

II.  Voracity  of  Fishes 42 

III.  Times  of  Feeding  and  Haunts  of  Fishes -. 44. 

CHAPTER   III. 

I.  Coast  and  Estuary  Fishes 46 

II.  Angling  for  Striped  Bass 48 

III.  Trolling  in  HeU  Gate 52 

IV.  Still-baiting  for  Bass 58 

V.  Casting-bait  for  Striped  Bass .* 64 

VI.  Angling  at  the  Bassing  Clubs 69 

CHAPTER   IV. 

I.  Weakfish  or  Squeteague 79 

II.  Southern  Sea  Trout ~ 82 

III.  Sheepshead 84 

IV.  Angling  for  Sheepshead 92 

V.  The  Kingfish 95 

VI.  The  Hogfish,  98  ;  the  Grunter,  99  ;  the  Golden  Mullet,  100 ;  the 
White  Perch,  101  ;  the  Smelt,  102  ;   the  Spearing,  103.;  the 

Caplin... 105 

Vn.  The  Sea  Bass,  106 ;  the  Porgee 108 

VIII.  The  Family  of  the  Wrasses  or  Rockfish,  111  ;   the  Tautog  or 

Blackfish,  113;  the  Flounder 110 

IX.  The  Bluefish 117 


X  Contents. 

Section  Page 

X.  The  Spanish  Mackerel 126 

XL  TheBonetta  or  Bonita 132 

XII,  The  Cero,  Cerus,  or  Sierra,  134  ;  the  Horse  Mackerel 135 


PART   II. 

FEESH-WATEK  FISHING  WITH  FLY  AND  BAIT. 

CHAPTER  J. 

I.  The  Poetry  of  Angling 141 

II.  The  Brook  Trout 146 

III.  Fly-fishing  for  Trout,  154;  Modem  Spliqe  for  Fly-rods 159 

CHAPTER  II. 

I.  Fly-fishing  on  Massapiqua  Lake 162 

II.  How  to  Fish  a  Stream 165 

HI.  Knots,  Loops,  and  Drops,  166  ;  how  to  Stain  Silk-worm  Gut,  170 ; 
Trout-reels,  172  ;  Fly-rods,  173  ;  Landing-nets,  173  ;  Trout- 
basket,  174  ;  Bait-box,  174  ;  Straightening  Casting-lines,  175  ; 
Natural  and  Artificial  Trout-flies 176 

CHAPTER   II L 

L  Middle  Dam  Camp 181 

11.  Select  Artificial  Trout-flies,  184  ;  Round  Bend  Fly-hooks,  185  ; 

Fish-hook  Philosophy 185 

IIL  Bait-fishing  for  Trout 189 

CHAPTER   IV. 

I.  Lesson  by  Josh  Billings,  191 ;  the  Ardent  Angler 1 92 

IL  Angling  for  Children 198 

CHAPTER  V. 

L  The  Salmon 202 

II.  Outfit  for  Salmon-fishing 215 

IIL  Departure  for  Salmon-fishing,  215  ;  our  Start  up  the  St.  John....  218 

IV.  The  Encampment 222 

V.  Camping  in  the  Wilderness,  228;  a  Morning's  Experience 234 

VL  History  and  Rumination 236 

VIL  Jolly  Sport  on  Rattling  Run 241 

VIIL  Fly-fishing  below  the  Falls 244 

IX.  Thoughts  of  returning  Homeward 251 

X.  The  Silver  or  Sea  Trout,  255  ;  the  White  Trout,  258  ;  the  Win- 
ninish,  260 ;  Red  Trout  of  Long  Lake,  262  ;  Trout  of  Seneca 

and  Cayuga  Lakes,  263  ;  the  Mackinaw  Trout 264 

XI.  American  Pickerel  or  Pike,  2G6 ;  Skittering  for  Pickerel  among 

the  Lily-pads,  270 ;  Still-baiting  for  Pickerel 271 


Contents.  xi 


^    .  CHAPTER  VI. 

Section  Page 

I.  Trolling  among  the  Thousand  Islands 274 

II.  The  Maskinonge 277 

III.  The  Black  Bass,  280  ;  the  Oswego  Bass,  282  ;  the  Black  Bass  of 

the  South,  284  ;  the  Spotted  Bass  or  Speckled  Hen,  285 ;  Rock 
Bass  of  the  Lakes 285 

IV.  The  Sunfish,  286  ;  the  Perch,  287 ;  the  Glass-eyed  or  Wall-eyed 

Pike,  288;  the  Whiteftsh,  290 ;  the  Lake  Herring,  291 ;  the  Cis- 
co or  Ciscoquette,  292 ;  the  Shiner 294 

V.  Bait-can  and  Baits,"  294 ;  Spinning-baits,  295  ;  Hackett's  Spinning- 
tackle,  296 ;  Haskell's  Trolling-bait,  297 ;  the  Propelling  Min- 
now, 298 ;  Buel's  Patent  Feather  Troll,  299 ;  Spinning  Tackle 
for  Live  Baits,  299  ;  Spoon  Victuals  for  Long-snouts,  302 ;  Troll- 
ing Weather  and  Baits,  303  ;  Fish  -  hooks,  304  ;  Salmon  -  flies, 
306  ;  Fly-dressing,  308  ;  Mounting  Salmon-hooks,  310 ;  the  Pon- 
derating  Sinker 310 


PART   III 

COMMERCIAL   FISHERIES. 

CHAPTER    L 

Lake  Fisheries 315 

CHAPTER   IL 

COAST  PISHES   AND   FISHERIES   OP  THE   UNITED   STATES. 

L  The  Mackerel 319 

IL  The  Shad 324 

III.  The  Mossbunker  or  Menhaden,  326 ;  Menhaden  for  Bait — Frozen 

Herrings 328 

IV.  The  Codfish— Catching  and  Curing  it » 328 

CHAPTER   IIL 
Whale  Fishing,  332  ;  the  Striped  Red  Mullet 338 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Salt-water  Fisheries,  339 ;  the  Chesapeake  Bay  Fishery,  342 ;  Findon 

Haddocks,  342  ;  Preserving  Food-fishes  Fresh 343 


PART   IV. 

ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  FISH-CULTURE. 

CHAPTER   L 
The  Art  among  the  Ancients 34' 


xii  Contents. 


CHAPTER   11. 

Section  Page 

Fish-culture  in  Europe  in  Early  Times 350 

CHAPTER   III. 
Fish-culture  of  this  Centuiy 355 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Natural  History  of  the  Salmon,  367 ;  Developij^ent  of  the  Salmon 371 

CHAPTER  V. 

I.  Fish  Propagation  assisted  by  Art,  378  ;  best  Water  for  hatching 
Salmon,  382  ;  special  Directions  about  preparing  Spawning-boxes, 
386  ;  securing  the  Ova  of  a  Salmon,  387  ;  Mr.  Gillone's  Process 
of  propagating  Trout  and  Salmon,  388  ;  Care  in  obtaining  Fecun- 
dated Spawn,  390  ;  a  simple  Process  for  preparing  a  Spawning- 
bed,  392 ;    feeding  young  Trout  or  Salmon,  392 ;   stocking  old 

Ponds  with  Trout 393 

II.  Ainsworth's  Race  and  Screens,  397 ;  Furman's  natural  Hatching 
Race,  401  ;  "  General  Directions"  by  Seth  Green,  403  ;  every 
Farmer  should  have  a  Trout  Preserve,  405  ;  General  Observa- 
tions   406 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Salmon  Passes,  Ladders,  etc 407 


PART  y. 

A  GLIMPSE  OF  ICHTHYOLOGY. 

CHAPTER    I. 
I.  First  Class  of  Fishes — Spine-rayed  bony  Fishes,  424  ;  Second  Class 
of  Fishes— Soft-rayed  bony  Fishes,  428  ;  Third  Class  of  Fishes — 

Cartilaginous  Fishes 432 

II.  The  common  Eel,  436 ;  the  Lamprey,  437 ;  queer  Fishes 439 

III.  Fishes  for  acclimatizing  in  American  Rivers 440 


APPENDIX. 

Cookery  adapted  to  the  Resources  of  Sportsmen  in  the  Wilderness  or  on 

the  Wave,  445  ;  General  Rules  for  Cooking,  458  ;  Compounding     ' 
Fancy  Drinks,  460  ;  General  Remarks,  462  ;  Noteworthy  Items, 
463;  American  Game-laws,  467 ;  a  Word  in  Conclusion 478 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

1.  Frontispiece.— The  Striped  Bass. 

2.  Title-page.— An  Angler's  Outfit 

3.  First  Families 17 


PAGB 

44.  Cero  or  Sierra 134 

45.  Harpooning 135 

46.  Horse  Mackerel 136 


4.  Egyptian  Gentleman  Fishing 20|47.  Habits  of  Fishes 137 

5.  Names  of  Fins 24;48.  Poetry  of  Angling 141 

6.  Brain  and  Nerves  of  Fishes 26j49.  Brook  Trout 147 

7.  Artificial  Dragon-fly ^ 30|50.  A  Poacher 162 

8.  Angler's  Natural  Flies 31  j  51.  Fly-fishing 155 

9.  Hooks  for  Estuary  Fishes 40  52.  Trouting  Tackle 159 

10.  The  Striped  Bass 46  53.  Splice  for  Fly-rods 160 

11.  Tackle  for  Small  Bass 50 1 54.  A  pair  of  Flies 101 

12.  General  Bassing  Tackle 54j55.  Angling  on  Massapiqua 162 

13.  Trolling  in  Hell  Gate 57|56.  Fly  and  Minnow  Hooks 164 

14  Still-baiting  for  Bass 69|57.  How  to  Fish  a  Stream 165 

15.  Playing  a  Bass  in  the  Surf 65^58.  Knots,  Loops,  and  Drops 167 

16.  Baits,  Thumb-stall,  Bait-spoon 67j59.  Trout-flies 177 

17.  Shrimp  and  Prawn 78  00.  An  Aquarium 180 

18.  Weakfish  or  Squeteagiae 79|61.  Middle  Dam  Camp 181 

19.  Southern  Sea  Trout 82  62.  Select  Trout-flies 184 

20.  The  Sheepshead 85'63,  Fly  Hooks 185 

21.  Hooks  and  Sinkers  for  Sheepshead    86.64.  Difierent  Bends 186 

22.  TheKingfish 95  66.  Plate  ofTrout-flies 188 

23.  Tackle  for  Kingfish 97|66.  Josh  Billings 191 

24.  TheHogflsh 98  67.  The  Ardent  Angler 193 

25.  The  Grunter 99:68.  Green  or  Gray  Drake  Fly 197 

26.  The  Golden  Mullet loo'oo.  Going  a  Fishing 198 

27.  The  White  Perch 101  70.  Evening 201 

28.  The  Smelt 102  71.  The  Salmon 202 

29.  Cast  for  small  Fishes 103  ^2.  Hat  and  Salmon-rod 208 

no.  Spearing  or  Silverside 10473.  Gaff"-hooks 214 

31.  The  Caplin 10574,  Fishing  Equipment 215 

32.  Sea  Bass 106  75,  Getting  a  Bite 215 

33.  Porgee 109  76,  Encampment 223 

34.  Wrasses  or  Eockfish Ill  77,  Camp  Bed 229 

35.  TheBluefish 117  78.  Pool  below  the  Chute 245 

36.  Bluefish  Squids 120  79,  Silver  or  Sea  Trout 256 

37.  The  Flying  Fish 121  SO,  The  White  Trout 259 

38.  Trolling  for  Bluefish 122  SI,  The  Winninish 260 

39.  The  Troller  made  Bait  of 122  82.  Red  Trout  of  Long  Lake 202 

40.  The  Spanish  Mackerel 127  S3.  Trout  of  Seneca  Lake 264 

41.  Spanish  Mackerel  Feeding 130  84,  The  Mackinaw  Trout 265 

42.  Spanish  Mackerel  Squids 131.85,  Pickerel  or  Pike 269 

43.  Bonetta  or  Bonito 132,86.  Open  Countenances 267 


XIV 


List  of  Illusteations. 


100. 
101. 
102. 
103. 
104. 
106. 
106. 
lOT. 
108. 
109. 
110. 
111. 
112. 
113. 
114. 
115. 
116. 
117. 
118. 
119. 
120. 
121. 
122. 
123. 
124. 
125. 
126. 
12T: 
128. 
129. 
130. 


PAGE 

Skittering  for  Pickerel  .  *. 270 

Still-baiting  for  Pickerel 272 

Dragon  Flies 273 

Trolling— The  Thousand  Islands  .  274 

The  Maskinonge 278 

The  Black  Bass 281 

The  Oswego  Bass 284 

Black  Bass  of  the  South 284 

Spotted  Bass  or  Speckled  Hen  ...  285 

Rock  Bass  of  the  Lakes 286 

Sunflsh 287 

The  Perch i 287 

Glass-eyed  Pike 289 

Whitefish 290 

Lake  Herring 292 

Cisco  or  Ciscoquette 293 

Shiner— natural  Size 294 

Bait-can 295 

Spinning  Tackle 297 

Spinning  Baits 298 

Spinning  Tackle  for  Live  Baits ...  300 

Feathered  Spoons 303 

Fish-hooks 305 

Salmon  Flies 307 

Mounting  Flies 309 

Ponderating  Sinkers 311 

Indian  Summer 311 

Hammer-headed  Shark 318 

The  Mackerel 320 

Shad,  Menhaden,  Herring 324 

The  Codfish 329 

The  John  Dory 331 

Whale  Fishing 332 

Harpooned 333 

Striped  Red  Mullet 338 

A  surprised  Codfish. 339 

Morning 344 

Ancient  Fish-culture 347 

Modem  Fish-culture 355 

Cuttle-fish 366 

History  of  the  Salmon 367 

Salmon  Ova  and  Alevin 372 

Salmon  Fry 373 

Parr  Eight  Months  Old 373 


131. 
132. 
133. 
134 
135. 
136. 
137. 
138. 
139. 
140. 
141. 
142. 
143. 
144 
145. 
146. 
147. 
148. 
149. 
150. 
151. 


PAGE 

Parr  Fifteen  Months  Old 374 

Smolt  Fifteen  Months  Old 375 

The  Grilse 376 

Adult  Salmon 377 

The  Swordfish 377 

Hatching-boxes 383 

Hatching-race,  Tray,  and  Grille  . .  384 

Siphon  and  Pincers 385 

Gathering  Salmon  Eggs 387 

Stripping  a  Trout 391 

Feeding  Young  Trout 393 

Ainsworth's  Hatching-race 397 

A  Hard  Leap 407 

Salmon  Leaps 411 

Ballysadare  Salmon-pass 413 

Sligo  Salmon-stairs 415 

Canadian  Salmon-stairs 416 

Horizontal  Screen 419 

Current  M^heel 419 

Ichthyology 423 

Pike-perch 423 

Spine-rayed  Fishes 424 

"  "      425 

"  "      426 

The  Pilot-fish 426 

Roach  and  Dace 427 

The  Carp  Family 428 

The  Pike  Family 429 

Salmon  and  Trout  Family 429 

The  Cod  Family 430 

Flatfish  Family 431 

Sharks 432 

Sturgeon  and  Chimaera 432 

Ray  Family 433 

Catfish  Family 433 

Grenouille 434 

The  common  Eel 430 

The  Lamprey 437 

Estuary  Catfish  and  Silure 440 

The  short  Sunfish 442 

Cookery 445 

Reel  to  Dry  Lines , .  463 

Feet  Dress  for  Field-sports 466 

Invitation  to  the  Streams 477 


Part    Jir0t. 


ON    COAST    AND    ESTUAEY  FISHING 


EOD    AND    LINE. 


FISHING  IN  AMERICAN  WATERS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL  CHARACTERIZATION  OF  FISHES. 
SECTION  FIRST. 

ON  seriously  contem- 
plating the  immensity 
of  the  waters  and  their 
innumerable  inhabit- 
ants, it  is  not  difficult  to 
realize  the  importance 
of  these  branches  of  ma- 
terial and  animal  na- 
ture, and  I  shall  con- 
sider myself  fortunate 
if  able  to  present  rea- 
sons sufficient  to  induce 
the  employment  of  an 
amount  of  time  at  all 
commensurate  with  the  proper  division  of  labor  between  land 
and  water  for  the  purposes  of  health,  wealth,  and  recreation. 
Not  only  has  a  larger  portion  of  this  terraqueous  ball  been 
bequeathed  to  fish-kind  than  to  mankind,  but  "  its  first  fam- 
ilies" were  also  more  richly  endowed  by  Providence  in  beauty 
of  form  and  of  coloring.  There  was  a  period  when  all  the  in- 
habitants of  this  planet  were  fishes,  previously  to  the  sublime 
moment  when  "  God  said  '  Let  the  dry  land  appear.' "  The 
ancients  thought  that  the  illimitable  beauties  of  the  waters 
were  reflected  in  the  heavens;  hence  they  gave  to  the  con- 
stellations the  names  of  fishes.     Thus,  prior  to  the  time  of 

B 


18  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Galileo,  when  the  earth  was  believed  to  be  a  great  flat  plain, 
the  celestial  expanse  was  divided  by  them  into  the  northern 
and  southern  constellations,  the  most  important  of  which 
were  named  after  their  favorite  fishes.  Out  of  the  legends 
connecting  these  fishes  with  heathen  divinities  there  have 
been  evolved  and  handed  down  to  us,  revised  and  improved, 
the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  indicated  in  almanacs  by  the  figuiv 
of  a  man,  which  signs  are  still  reverently  consulted  by  both 
sailor  and  angler ;  and  the  latter  is  never  confident  or  hope- 
ful of  great  success  unless  the  sign  be  above  the  loins. 
Whether  or  no  this  l?e  a  superstition  bequeathed  by  the  an- 
cients I  have  not  bestowed  much  time  in  examining,  but 
plead  guilty  to  the  weakness  of  individual  faith,  and  feel  con- 
fident of  good  sport  only  when  the  sign  is  in  the  head,  stom- 
ach, or  bowels,  but  never  when  it  is  in  the  legs  or  feet. 

Man,  from  his  inferior  share  of  the  earth's  surface,  to  which 
little  space  he  appears  confined  without  a  fin  to  dive  or  a 
wing  to  soar,*  contemplates  with  pleasure  the  scintillating 
heavens ;  while  the  sublime  roar  of  the  ocean,  its  breakers 
beating  the  shores  into  fragments  with  its  billowy  battalions 
in  close  lines,  and  in  storms  booming  like  thunder,  penetrate 
his  soul  with  awe  and  reverence  at  the  power  manifested,  to 
which,  in  comparison,  his  own  is  nothing. 

But  it  is  not  my  intention  to  estimate  the  power  of  the 
waters,  or  their  value  for  bathing  or  manufacturing  purposes. 
My  object  is  to  show  the  reader  the  attractions  of  angling, 
and  to  convince  him  that,  wherever  commensurate  efforts 
have  been  made,  the  waters  have  yielded  greater  profits  to 
his  toil  or  skill  than  the  land.  I  strongly  advocate  the  main- 
tenance of  a  large  maritime  power.  As  a  means  of  wealth, 
the  experience  of  the  British  Isles — isolated,  and  compara- 
tively insignificant  on  the  map  of  the  world  as  they  are — 
proves  that  nothing  is  too  exalted  to  be  hoped  for  by  a  lib- 
eral maritime  power.  But  it  is  the  wealth  of  the  watei-s  in 
the  riches  of  their  inhabitants  to  which  I  would  chiefly  invite 
attention.     As  to  the  intelligence  of  fishes,  comparatively  lit- 


Fishing  includes  Angling.  lif 

tie  is  known ;  but  I  feel  assured  that  they  would  rank  higher 
in  the  "  scale  of  entities"  than  the  fourth  class  of  vertebrate 
animals,  accorded  them  by  Cuvier,  did  all  men  of  thought  and 
science  appreciate  and  pursue  fishing. 

Fishing,  as  a  term,  is  general ;  while  angling  is  a  special 
kind  of  fishing.  The  word  angling  is  supposed  to  have  been 
derived  from  the  bend  of  the  hook,  forming  an  angle ;  but 
the  origin  or  antiquity  of  the  term  is  comparatively  unim- 
portant now.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  the  art  of  angling 
"  requires  as  much  enthusiasm  as  poetry,  as  much  patience  as 
mathematics,  and  as  much  caution  as  housebreaking." 

That  field-sports  were  among  the  earliest  and  most  respect- 
able pastimes  of  the  ancients,  we  have  abundant  evidence 
from  their  poets  and  philosophers,  such  as  Aristotle,  Plato, 
Cicero,  and  Horace ;  and  that  angling  was  practiced  "  with 
much  success  and  love  of  the  sport  is  evident  from  the  Hali- 
eutics  of  Oppian,  the  only  Greek  poem  now  extant  on  this 
subject;"  but  we  learn  from  Athenaeus  that  several  other 
writers  had  written  treatises  or  poems  upon  fishing  some 
centuries  before  the  Christian  era. 

"  Fishing  was  a  favorite  pastime  of  the  Egyptian  gentle- 
man, both  in  the  Nile  and  in  the  spacious  '  sluices,  or  ponds 
for  fish,'*  constructed  within  his  grounds,  where  they  were 
fed  for  the  table,  and  where  he  amused  himself  by  angling,t 
and  the  dexterous  use  of  the  bident,  a  two-pronged  spear  for 
striking  two  fish  at  a  time.  These  favorite  occupations  were 
not  confined  to  young  persons,  nor  thought  unworthy  of)men 
of  serious  habits ;  and  an  Egyptian  of  rank,  and  of  a  certain 
age,  is  .frequently  represented  in  the  sculptures  catching  fish 
in  a  canal  or  lake,  with  the  line,  or  spearing  them  as  they 
glided  past  the  bank.  Sometimes  the  angler  posted  himself 
in  a  shady  spot  by  the  water's  edge,  and,  having  ordered  his 
servants  to  spread  a  mat  upon  the  ground,  sat  upon  it  as  he 
threw  his  line ;  and  some,  with  higher  notions  of  comfort, 
used  a  chair,  as  '  stout  gentlemen'  now  do  in  punts.  The  rod 
*  Isaiah  xix.,  10.  t  Isaiah  xix.,  8. 


^0 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


An  Egyptian  gentleman  Ashing. 

was  short,  and  apparently  of  one  piece ;  the  line  usually  sin- 
gle, though  instances  occur  of  a  double  line,  each  with  its 
own  hook,  which  was  of  bronze.  In  all  cases  they  adopted  a 
ground  bait,  as  is  still  the  custom  in  Egypt,  without  any 
float ;  and  though  several  winged  insects  are  represented  in 
the  paintings  hovering  over  the  water,  it  does  not  appear 
that  they  ever  put  them  to  the  hook,  and  still  less  that  they 
had  devised  any  method  similar  to  our  artificial-fly  fishing, 
which  is  still  as  unknown  to  the  unsophisticated  modern 
Egyptians  as  to  their  fish." 

Prime  kinds  of  fishes  are,  and  have  for  some  years  been,  in 
the  cities  of  this  country,  expensive  articles  of  diet.  It  was 
so  in  Athens ;  and  the  following  poem,  quoted  by  Athenaeus 
from  "  The  Purple"  of  Xenarchus  (Yonge's  translation),  is  pre- 
sented for  the  benefit  of  those  who  retail.stale  fish  from  stands 
along  the  streets : 

"Poets  are  nonsense ;  for  they  never  say 
A  single  thing  that's  new.     But  all  they  do 
Is  to  clothe  old  ideas  in  language  new ; 
Turning  the  same  things  o'er  and  o'er  again, 
And  upside  down.     But  as  to  fishmongers, 
They're  an  inventive  race,  and  yield  to  none 


Beauty  in  Form  and  Coloring.  ,21 

In  shameless  conduct.     For  as  modern  laws 

Forbid  them  now  to  water  their  stale  fish, 

Some  fellow,  hated  by  the  gods,  beholding 

His  fish  quite  dry,  picks  with  his  mates  a  quarrel, 

And  blows  are  interchanged.     Then  when  one  thinks 

He's  had  enough,  he  falls  and  seems  to  faint, 

And  lies  like  any  corpse  among  his  baskets. 

Some  one  calls  out  for  water ;  and  his  partner 

Catches  a  pail,  and  throws  it  o'er  his  friend 

So  as  to  sprinkle  all  his  fish,  and  make 

The  world  beHeve  them  newly  caught  and  fresh." 

In  regard  to  propagating  fishes,  the  experiments  of  the  an- 
cients amounted  to  little  more  than  robbing  the  nests  of  her- 
bivorous fishes,  and  planting  the  eggs  in  other  waters ;  but  the 
moderns  have,  within  the  past  thirty  years,  invented  success- 
ful theories  for  studying  the  habits  of  fishes  at  their  aqueous 
homes,  in  rapid  streams,  or  placid  lakes,  and  deep  down  into 
the  depths  of  old  ocean.  As  these  will  be  explained  in  this 
work  under  their  appropriate  titles  of  ancient  and  modern 
fish  culture,  I  merely  allude  to  them  in  passing  as  having — 
through  their  developments  of  the  habits  of  fishes — opened 
up  a  subject  so  attractive  as  to  have  induced  anglers  and 
men  of  science  to  study  more  assiduously  and  minutely  these 
creatures  of  elegant  forms,  whose  colors  vie  with  the  rainbow, 
and  reflect  the  hues  of  every  precious  stone.  See.  their  scin- 
tillant  scales,  their  metallic  rays,  and  colors  more  beautiful 
than  are  given  to  birds  of  most  favored  plumage !  What 
satin  sheen,  aurora  borealis,  or  heavenly  sunset  can  vie  with 
the  prismatic  colors  of  the  living  trout  or  the  dying  dolphin  ? 
What  gold  so  finely  burnished  as  the  spots  on  the  Spanish 
mackerel  ?  or  what  shade  of  carmine  so  brilliant  as  the  spots 
on  a  samlet?  What  so  transcendently  lustrous  and  beau- 
tiful as  a  fresh-run  salmon  ? 

The  Spanish  mackerel,  salmon,  and  bonetta  combine  to 
form  the  models  for  the  speed  and  beauty  of  our  ships. 
Even  as  far  back  as  the  Revolutionary  War,  one  of  our  ship8 
was  named  "  Bonetta."  In  symmetry  of  form  and  beautiful 
coloring,  fishes  stand  at  the  head  of  animal  creation. 


:i2  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

SECTION  SECOND. 
prerequisites  for  fishing. 

In  order  to  pursue  with  success  any  branch  of  fishing,  a 
knowledge  of  both  the  senses  and  habits  of  fishes  is  essential. 
Angling  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  methods  of  fishing,  as 
proven  by  the  centre-draught  hook  exhumed  at  Thebes  and 
:it  Pompeii.  The  hook  used  in  China,  when  that  realm  was 
first  discovered  by  the  Christians,  was  quite  similar  in  bend, 
and  all  of  the  ancient  models  left  nothing  to  desire  but  a  barb, 
which  is  the  only  improvement  made  in  the  shape  of  the  com- 
mon fish-hook  within  three  thousand  years.  And  it  is  worthy 
of  remark,  that  the  bend  of  the  ancient  hook  is  so  like  the 
l>est  hooks  of  the  present  day — eminently  the  O'Shaughnessy 
and  the  American  Kinsey,  the  latter  known  as  the  Pennsyl- 
vania hook — that  some  suspect  ours  to  be  a  copy  of  the  an- 
cient bend,  with  the  addition  of  an  Aberdeen  barb.  Our  age, 
however,  has  surpassed  all  others  in  artificial  disguises' to 
lure  the  finny  tribes,  and  take  the  conceit  out  of  them  a 
thousand-fold  faster  than  ever  could  the  ancients. 

The  habits  of  fishes  to  be  fished  for,  whether  by  angling  or 

any  other  means^  should  be  carefully  studied.     So  also  should 

their  food. 

"Fish  have  their  various  characters  defined, 
Not  more  by  color  than  by  mind." 

They  have  their  times  to  eat  and  their  choice  of  food.  Thus 
the  trout  will  take  ground  bait  or  minnows  as  substantial 
ibbd,  but  for  his  dessert  he  prefers  rising  to  the  surface  for 
ilies.  That  most  fresh-water  fishes  fast  previous  to  important 
j-ain-storms  I  think  has  become  settled  by  the  experience  of 
old  anglers.  Their  appetite  appears  to  be  imj^roved  by  a 
shower.  Most  fishes  seem  to  scent  the  approach  of  a  shower, 
and  know  by  instinct  that,  with  the  debris  carried  down  by 
a  rise  in  the  stream,  they  will  find  a  variety  of  food  from 
which  to  select.  Pike  generally  bite  eagerly  when  it  rains ; 
and  both  trout  and  salmon  will  rise  to  the  fly  most  readily 


Appetite  and  Locomotion.  23 

during  a  fall  of  snow  or  rain.  Indeed,  a  snow-storm  seems  to 
improve  the  appetite  of  some  fishes ;  and  rains  which  do  not 
render  the  stream  too  turbid,  but  give  to  the  water  a  slight- 
ly-darkened tint,  do  not  injure  it  for  even  fishing  with  the  fly. 

It  is  a  commonly  received  opinion  that  angling  is  not  as 
good  as  usual  during  easterly  winds ;  but  this  is  only  true 
when  the  winds  cause  the  tides  to  rise  so  high  on  our  coast 
that  fishes  change  their  feeding-grounds.  Fly-fishing  for 
both  salmon  and  trout  are,  in  some  waters,  best  during  an 
east  wind.  A  really  windy  day  is  not  good  for  fly-fishing. 
The  gentle,  balmy  breeze,  which  merely  produces  a  catspaw 
ripple  on  the  surface,  and  carries  the  cast  of  flies  out,  so  as  to 
leave  part  of  the  merit  for  their  graceful  and  snow-flake  fall 
to  the  angler  and  the  rod,  under  "  a  sun  of  mild  but  not  too 
bright  a  beam,"  form  a  few  of  the  conditions  which  give  fly- 
fishing its  peculiar  zest.  The  prejudice  against  an  east  wind 
with  the  American  angler  on  the  Atlantic  slope  near  the 
coast  is  probably  caused  by  the  fact  that  an  east  wind  so 
raises  the  tides  along  the  shores,  and  sets  it  back  in  the  estu- 
aries and  creeks,  as  to  cover  shoals  and  islets  of  eel-grass. 
This  gives  fishes  a  wider  range  to  forage  and  prospect  over 
shallow  and  weedy  places  for  shrimp,  shedder  and  soft-shell 
crabs,  instead  of  remaining  in  the  tideway  to  watch  for  bait 
carried  along  by  the  current. 

To  converse  intelligibly  about  fishes,  it  is  necessary  to 
know  the  names  of  their  fins,  for  these  give  the  means  of  lo- 
comotion ;  and  though  this  work  is  not  intended  as  a  school- 
book,  or  to*  be  especially  scientific,  yet,  as  all  retailers  of  fish- 
stories  should  know  enough  of  a  fish  to  name  its  fins,  I  pre- 
sent on  the  following  page  the  form  of  a  fish,  with  the  names 
of  them. 

The  propulsive  power  of  a  fish  is  its  taiL  or  caudal  fin. 
The  pectorals  and  ventrals  assist  a  little  in  speed,  but  more 
especially  in  turning  and  diving,  while  the  anal  and  dorsals 
serve  as  centre-boards  to  a  ship,  to  prevent  leeway  and  being 
easily  capsized.     Of  rapid  swimmers  in  the  American  waters, 


21  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


the  sword-fish,  Spanish  mackerel,  and  the  salmon  are  consid- 
ered the  swiftest  of  the  forked-tails ;  but  the  salmon  has  not, 
strictly  speaking,  a  forked  lail ;  it  is  more  properly  crescent- 
shaped.  Of  square -tails,  the  brook  trout,  squeteague,  and 
Southern  estuary  trout  are  the  swiftest  swimmers. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

GENERAL   HABITS    AND    SENSES    OF   FISHES. 

Generally  speaking,  the  principal  habits  and  instincts  of  a 
majority  of  the  finny  armies  consist  in  eating  and  j^rotecting 
themselves  from  being  eaten.  The  fact  that  over  two  thirds 
of  the  surface  of  the  globe  is  covered  by  the  sea,  and  that 
large  parts  of  continents  are  covered  by  lakes,  traversed  by 
rivers,  and  occupied  by  marshes,  proves  the  impossibility  for 
man  to  have  scanned  with  perspicacious  eye  the  principal 
marked  peculiarities  of  a  majority  of  the  families  which 
dwell  deep  down  in  the  bosom  of  old  ocean,  however  indus- 
trious he  may  have  been  in  such  research. 

Though  the  Chinese  had  understood  fish  culture  many  cen- 
turies, yet  we  date  our  practical  knowledge  of  this  art  from 
A.D.  183  V,  when  Mr.  Shaw,  of  Scotland,  expounded  the  theory 
in  Blackwood  under  the  head  oi^J^he  transmutation  of  sal- 
mon^"*  and  M.  Gehen,  of  the^YosgS|  in  France,  began  to  culti- 
vate fish  by  artificial  propagation.  We  now  know  that  the 
difference  in  the  species  of  fishes  is  no  greater  than  is  the  di- 
versity of  their  habits.  Some  are  solitary,  and  others  grega- 
rious ;  some  great  wanderers,  others  restricted  within  narrow 
limits ;  some  are  surface-feeders,  like  the  mackerel  families, ' 


The  Yalue  of  a  Tear.  •      25 

others  bottom  fish,  like  the  flounders  and  the  flat-fish  family  ; 
some  prefer  a  sandy  bottom,  as  thekingfish,  others  a  rocky, 
as  the  striped  bass ;  and  yet  others  rejoice  in  mud,  as  the  eels 
and  catfish,  with  the  rest  of  the  silurus  family.  Some  fish 
prefer  salt  water,  others  fresh,  and  yet  others  brackish ;  while 
eels  prefer  to  spawn  in  salt  water  and  fatten  in  fresh,  as  pal- 
pably as  do  salmon  pursue  the  opposite  by  feeding  in  salt 
water  and  spawning  in  fresh.  Thus  salmon,  shad,  and  striped 
bass  prefer  to  feed  in  salt  water,  spawn  in  fresh,  and  dally  in 
brackish  waters.  Some  fishes  keep  near  shore,  others  in  deep 
water  and  far  from  land.  Bottom  fishes  are  usually  sluggish, 
while  surface  swimmers  are  generally  active.  Some  lose 
their  vitality  as  soon  as  they  are  landed,  others  live  a  long 
time  out  of  water,  and  dart  revengeful  glances  at  their  cap- 
tors. Some  can  creep  like  the  eel,  others  climb  trees  like  the 
anahas  scandens. 

I  may  also  state  my  conviction  that  a  whale  is  a  fish,  and 
that  the  porpoise  is  also  a  fish,  though  members  of  this  ge7ius 
travel  in  pairs,  suckle  their  young,  of  which  they  usually  have 
but  one  at  a  birth,  which  the  parent  mammals  guard  with 
jealous  care,  making  it  swim  between  them ;  and  if  the  calf 
is  harpooned,  the  mother  always  yields  her  life  an  easy  prey 
to  the  same  weapon.  The  dudong,  one  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent of  mammal  fishes,  is  the  Malays'  emblem  of  constancy 
in  aftiection ;  and  as  it  is  said  to  cry  when  wounded  by  the 
harpoon  and  brought  on  deck,  they  catch  the  tears  and  bottle 
them  as  a  charm,  supposing  that  the  ajjplication  of  a  single 
drop  will  render  a  wife  constant  for  life. 

The  black  porpoise  and  the  pufting  porpus  are  great  con- 
sumers of  estuary  fishes.  Theyi^hould  not  only  be  hunted 
and  harpooned,  but  small  cannon  loaded  with  grape  or  canis- 
ter should  be  so  planted  as  to  project  their  contents  into  the 
shoals  which  attempt  to  forage  near  bassing  grounds.  Por- 
poises watch  mouths  of  rivers  for  salmon,  and  they  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  principal  cause  of  depopulating  many  of  the 
Irish  rivers  of  that  royal  fish. 


26 


Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 


Either  a  reward  should  be  offered  by  each  state  for  every 
porpoise  killed  in  its  waters,  or  gentlemen  who  compose 
sporting  clubs  for  taking  the  game  fishes  of  our  coast  and 
estuaries  should  adopt  a  plan  for  capturing  and  driving  them 
away.  The  porpoise  is  one  of  the  most  profitable  fishes  for 
capture,  as  its  oil  is  the  finest  possible,  and  used  exclusively 
l)y  watchmakers. 


rh..^ 


CTION^FOURTH. 


ON   VISION    IN    FISHES. 


m 


^mi 


The  brain  and  nerves  proceeding  therefrom,  a,  a,  h,  b.  The  lobes  of  the  brain  in  Ave 
ranks,  c,  c.  The  nerves  of  the^eye,  d,  d.  The  nerves  of  gmell,  branching  off  into  di- 
vergent filaments  upon  the  nostrils,  e,  e. 

That  certain  senses  are  bestowed  on  a*ll  animals,  intellect- 
ual as  well  as  instinctive,  is  too  self-evident  to  the  man  of 
science  and  the  angler  to  require  proof.  These  animals  need 
both,  more  than  do  those  which  dwell  on  land,  to  ayoid  being 
<levoured,  and  to  aid  them  in  capturing  and  devouring  other 
fishes;  for  their  fortifications  are  often  insecure,  and  they  are 
obliged  to  leave  them  frequently,  and  always  to  commit 
slaughter,  or  to  swallow  minor  species  whole. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  render  this  work  practical,  it  is  hard- 
ly  necessary  that  I  should  dwell  upon  principles  of  science 
farther  than  to  show  by  the  nature  and  habits  of  fishes  the 
motives  by  which  they  are  actuated,  which  appear  to  be,  in 
the  main,  efforts  to  eat  and  prevent  themselves  from  being 
oaten.  These  efforts,  carefully  studied,  will  assist  the  angler, 
and  the  fisher  with  nets  and  other  devices.     Fishes  are  iren- 


Round  Eyes  detect  Motion,  not  Form.  27 

orally  taken  by  the  angler  while  they  are  foraging  for  food. 
When  salmon  or  trout  rise  to  feed,  they  may  always  be  taken 
with  a  well-made  artificial  fly,  presented  to  them  gently  and 
artistically. 

The  form  of  the  eyes  of  almost  all  fishes  proves  them  to  be 
near-sighted.  All  animals  with  very  convex  eyes  quickly  de- 
tect the  slightest  motion,  but  lack  the  power  to  discriminate 
form.  Hence  a  deer,  with  its  full  lustrous  eye,  will  approach 
any  still  form  to  within  a  few  feet  of  it,  but  at  the  first  move- 
ment it  bounds  away  like  the  wind.  In  addition  to  the  eyes 
of  fishes  being  convex,  the  density  of  the  water — as  a  medium 
through  which  they  see — rather  shortens  than  extends  vision. 
''The  vision  must  also  be  farther  limited  from  the  eye  being 
covered  with  the  common  skin  of  the  head  to  protect  the  eye- 
ball; and  as  they  have.no  eyelids,  of  course  the  eyes  never 
close ;  and,  whether  sleeping  or  waking,  their  vision  must  be 
indistinct."  White,  of  Selborne,  states  that  eyes  of  fishes  are 
immovable ;  but  it  is  known  that  those  of  the  silver  and  gold 
fishes  in  glass  cases  turn  in  their  sockets  as  occasion  requires, 
and  that,  while  they  take  little  notice  of  a  lighted  candle,  they 
will  dart  and  appear  much  terrified  if  their  glass  house  is 
touched.  As  fishes  have  no  eyelids,  it  is  difiicult  to  discern 
the  difference  between  their  sleeping  and  waking  hours. 
That  they  do  not  always  sleep  in  the  night  is  proven  by  the 
many  instances  when  trout  have  been  taken  by  rising  to  the 
artificial  white  miller  in  total  darkness.  M.  de  Blainville  at- 
tributes the  greatest  distinctness  of  vision  to  migratory  fishes, 
because  he  states  their  eyes  are  the  largest ;  but,  instead  of 
that  being  so,  the  cod  is  about  the  only  migratory  fish  "which 
has  larger  eyes  than  the  general  run  of  river  fishes,  while 
those  with  eyes  of  moderate  size,  such  as  the  getius  Perca  and 
those  of  the  Salmo  genus,  give  indications  of  better  sight  than 
most  sea  fishes.  Anglers  of  great  experience  and  acknowl- 
edged judgment  select  baits,  whether  live  minnows,  or  such 
artificial  lures  as.  flies,  squids,  etc.,  which  contrast  strongly 
with  the  water  and  the  color  of  the  clouds.     What  angler 


28  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

does  not  know  that  a  shiner  is  the  best  bait  to  spin  for  trout 
on  a  dark  day  ? 

The  sight  of  fishes  is  too  imperfect  to  enable  them  to  de- 
cide between  friends  and  enemies.  A  shadow  cast  upon  the 
water  ,whether  by  a  ship,  seal,  otter,  or  an  angler,  frightens 
them.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  illustrates  the  truth  of  this  the- 
ory by  the  anecdote  that  some  man,  while  walking  up  Bond 
Street  from  one  of  the  club-houses  with  an  illustrious  person- 
age, laid  a  wager  that  he  would  see  more  cats  than  the  prince 
in  his  walk,  and  that  the  latter  might  take  which  side  of  the 
street  he  liked.  When  they  arrived  at  the  end  the  prince 
had  not  seen  one,  while  the  other  had  counted  thirteen.  The 
explanation  was  that  the  prince  had  selected  the  shady  side 
of  the  street,  while  the  other  person  chose  the  sunny  side, 
knowing  that  cats  prefer  sunshine.  Sir  Humphry,  in  his 
"  Salmonia,"  gives  the  following'  advice  to  students  at  an- 
gling :  "  You  have  been,  naturally  enough,  fishing  with  your 
backs  to  the  sun,  which,  not  being  very  high,  has  thrown  the 
shadows  of  yourselves  and  your  rods  on  the  water,  and  you 
have  alarmed  the  fish  whenever  you  have  thrown  a  fly.  You 
see  I  have  fished  with  my  face  toward  the  sun,  and,  though 
inconvenienced  by  the  light,  have  given  no  alarm." 

James  Rennie,M.A.,  states  that  indistinctness  in  the  vision 
of  fishes  proves  the  fallacy  df  the  routine  angler,  who  fancies 
the  fishes  are  so  well  versed  in  colors  and  forms  of  particu- 
lar flies  as  to  refuse  other  sorts  in  some  seasons  and  on  par- 
ticular days,  and  even  at  different  periods  of  the  same  day. 
"  Nothing  can  be  more  preposterous  than  such  a  notion,  uni- 
versal though  it  be  among  the  most  experienced  anglers ;  yet 
this  theory  is  founded  on  natural  philosophy,  but  the  result 
is  to  be  accounted  for  on  an  entirely  different  principle." 

Daniell  states  "  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  fishes  seeing 
a  considerable  distance,  and  the  conduct  of  many  of  them, 
that  are  deceived  by  different  baits  prepared  in  imitation  of 
their  food,  gives  room  to  suspect  that  objects  are  not  very 
distinctly  perceived  by  them,  even  when  near." 


Gay  Colors  the  most  Attractive.  29 

-  Light  seems  peculiarly  attractive  to  fishes,  as  proven  by 
their  surrounding  a  diving-bell  with  a  light  in  it.  Walter 
Scott,  in  his  Guy  Mannering,  describes  the  plan  adopted  in 
Scotland  for  attracting  fishes  by  grates  of  living  coal,  or 
torches  earned  by  the  fishermen  as  they  wade  shallow 
streams  for  the  purpose  of  spearing.  When  a  fish  is  thus 
discovered,  it  remains  fascinated  by  the  glare  of  light,  sel- 
dom makes  an  efibrt  to  escape,  and  is  easily  speared.  This 
is  one  of  the  many  devices  by  which  the  Indians  and  vagrant 
whites  kill  the  salmon  and  trout  while  on  their  spawning- 
beds,  both  in  Maine  and  in  the  dominion  of  Canada. 

The  Chinese  catch  fish  by  employing  two  narrow  boatSj 
with  a  board  painted  white  and  varnished  nailed  to  them,  so 
as  to  slope  outward  and  almost  touch  the  water,  and  so  as 
to  reflect  the  light  of  the  moon.  Toward  these  boats  the  fish 
dart,  and,  falling  on  them,  are  caught  with  ease. 

From  the  pretended  imitations  of  baits  and  .flies  for  cap- 
turing fishes  may  be  logically  deduced  the  fact  that  fish  are 
near-sighted,  and  do  not  perceive  with  great  distinctness  any 
minute  object,  however  near  to  them.  The  most  successful 
artificial  baits  to  troll  with  for  the  fishes  of  our  lakes  and 
rivers  are  thus  arranged :  a  pair  of  hooks  disguised  by  a  few 
gaudy  feathers — bright  red  and  white  being  the  most  suc- 
cessful colors — and  at  the  shank* of  the  hook  is  placed  a  piece 
of  silver,  brass,  or  copper,  of  oval  or  diamond  shape,  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  revolve  rapidly,  and  appears^  little  like  any 
thing  living  in  or  out  of  the  water  as  possible.  What  is 
known  as  the  common  "  spoon,"  made  with  swivels,  and  a 
shoulder  on  the  shank  of  the  hook,  so  as  to  revolve  rapidly 
by  drawing  it  through  the  water,  is  frequently  a  more  capti- 
vating lure  than  a  live  fish.  In  trolling  for  bluefish,  a  piece 
of  lead  or  bone  five  inches  long  forms  a  more  successful  lure 
than  the  sea-shiner  which  is  its  principal  sustenance ;  and  a 
piece  of  pearl,  five  inches  long  by  half  an  inch  in  diameter, 
either  round  or  oval,  is  the  most'  attractive  troll  for  Spanish 
mackerel;  while,  a  plain  piece  of  red  flannel,  attached  tea 


30  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

piece  of  lead  and  drawn  quickly  through  the  water,  is  often 
the  only  bait  used  by  heavers  and  haulers  for  bluefish,  who 
fi&h  for  a  livelihood. 

Of  artificial  flies,  I  know  that  gaudy  colors  are  generally 
preferred  by  the  black  bass,  while  the  red  ibis  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  lures  for  trout  in  the  waters  of  Long  Island, 
and  in  many  streams  and  lakes  remote  from  the  sea-board. 
Of  course  the  red  ibis  fly  does  not  imitate  any  winged  insect 
seen  on  the  waters  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Its  adoption 
resulted  from  the  frequent  rises  of  trout  to  the  red  float  while 
fishing  with  bait.  I  scarcely  suppose  a  critic  will  be  found 
willing  to  risk  his  reputation,  however  slender,  upon  insisting 
that  a  red  float  is  the  imitation  of  some  water-fly.  Anglers 
generally  regarded  these  trout-leaps  at  the  float  as  a  whimsi- 
cal caprice  of  theirs  while  on  a  spree.  Not  so,  however,  with 
Judge  Philo  T.  Ruggles  and  Mr.  Finn,  two  among  the  best 
fly-fishers  in  the  state.  They  concluded  to  test  the  fancy  of 
trout  by  offering  them  a  red  fly.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Finn 
bouglit  a  red  ibis  of  a  taxidermist,  and  employed  a  fly-tyer 
4#«  to  make  it  into  flies.  The  result  was  a  success ;  and  the  fly- 
tyer,  who  was  presented  with  all  of  them  but  a  couple  of 
dozen,  actually  made  money  enough  by  the  sale  of  them  to 
set  himself  up  in  the  fishing-tackle  business.  Early  in  the 
season  this  is  the  most  killing  fly  on  Long  Island,  though  per- 
haps not  for  large  fish,  which  generally  prefer  the  fly  made 


The  Artificial  Dragon-fly. 


Dessert  for  Salmon  and  Trout. 


31 


of  a  claret  body,  brown  mallard  wing,  and  tail  of  the  top-knot 
from  the  golden  pheasant ;  or  the  blue  professor,  with  blue 
silk  body  and  dark  gray  wings. 

With  the  following  remarks  from  a  clever  writer  on  an- 
gling in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  and  a  few  comments  on 
them,  I  shall  dismiss  the  subject  of  the  visio?i  in  fishes: 

"  It  may  be  asked  upon  what  principle  of  imitative  art  the 
different  varieties  of  salmon-fly  can  be  supposed  to  bear  the 
most  distant  resemblance  to  any  species  of  dragon-fly,  to  im- 
itate which  we  are  frequently  told  that  they  are  intended  ?" 

The  reader  will  please  compare  the  artificial  dragon-fly 
with  a  true  copy  of  a  natural  one  on  the  following  plate  of 
natural  salmon  and  trout  flies :  , 


Amkbioan  Nebve-winged  Insects,  natural  size.  1.  Common  Dragon-fly.  2.  The  Ag- 
ri«)n  Dragon-fly.  3.  Day-fly,  or  May-fly.  4.  Grub  or  larm  of  the  same.  6.  Honied 
Corydalis.    G.  'A  Mantispan.    7.  The  magnified  claw  of  the  Mantispan. 


Of  the  dissimilarity  of  the  artificial  lures  to  the  natural 
ones,  the  same  may  be  generally  said  and  prove  true,  whether 


32  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

for  salmon,  trout,  maskinonge,  pickerel,  black  bass,  bluefish, 
Spanish  mackerel,  and  all  other  surface  feeders.  Besides,  the 
pretended  imitations  are  used  several  months  earlier  in  the 
year  than  nature  produces  their  originals ;  thus,  while  the 
finest  salmon-fishing  in  Europe  is  during  the  spring  months, 
the  dragon-fly  is  a  summer  insect,  and  rarely  makes  its  ap- 
pearance until  June. 

If  artificial  flies  have  no  resemblance  to  natural  ones, "  how 
much  more  unlike  must  they  be  when,  instead  of  being  swept 
down  by  the  current,  as  a  real  one  would  be,  the  artificial  fly 
is  seen  crossing  and  recrossing  every  stream  and  torrent  with 
the  agility  of  an  otter  and  the  strength  of  an  alligator? 
Now,  as  it  is  demonstrable  that  the  artificial  fly  generally 
used  for  salmon  bears  no  resemblance,  except  in  size,  to  any 
living  one ;  that  the  only  tribe  which  it  may  be  supposed  to 
represent  does  not  exist  in  the  winged  state  during  the  pe- 
riod when  the  imitation  is  most  generally  and  most  success- 
fully used ;  and  if  they  did,  their  habits  and  natural  powers 
totally  prevent  them  from  being  at  any  time  seen  under  such 
circumstances  as  would  give  a  color  to  the  supposition  of 
the  one  being  even  mistaken  for  the  other,  may  we  not  fairly 
conclude  that,  in  this  instance  at  least,  the  fish  proceed  upon 
other  grounds,  and  are  deceived  by  an  appearance  of  life  and 
motion  rather  than  by  a  specific  resemblance  to  any  thing 
which  they  had  previously  been  in  the  habit  of  capturing  ? 
What  natural  insect  do  the  large  flies  and  sj)Oons  at  which 
sea  trout,  lake  trout,  black  bass,  etc.,  bite,  resemble  ?  These, 
as  well  as  salmon,  frequently  take  the  lure  far  within  the 
bounds  of  salt-water  mark,  and  yet  materialists  know  that  no 
such  thing  as  a  salt-water  fly  exists.  Indeed,  no  true  insect 
inhabits  the  sea.  What  species  are  represented  by  the  palm- 
er, or  by  three  fourths  of  tlie  dressed  flies  in  use  ?  An  arti- 
ficial fly  can,  at  the  best,  be  considered  only  as  the  represent- 
ative of  a  natural  one  which  has  been  drowned,  as  it  is  im- 
possible to  imitate  the  dancing  or  hovering  flight  of  the  in- 
spect over  the  surface  of  the  stream,  and,  even  with  that  re- 


Most  Fishes  ake  Short-sighted.  33 

stricted  idea  of  its  resemblance  to  nature,  the  likeness  must 
be  scarcely  perceptible,  owing  to  the  difference  of  motion  and 
the  great  variety  of  directions  in  which  the  angler  draws  his 
flies,  according  to  the  nature  and  locality  of  the  current  and 
the  prevailing  direction  of  the  wind.". 

The  sight  of  fishes  is  like  that  of  all  animals  with  round 
and  convex  eyes.  If  the  angler  will  stand  quite  still  in  the 
water,  fish  will  not  fear  to  congregate  about  him,  or  to  flap 
his  legs  with  their  fins ;  but  with  his  slightest  motion  they 
dart  to  their  hiding-places.  The  convexity  of  the  eye  pro- 
duces short-sightedness  in  man  as  well  as  in  quadrupeds, 
birds,  and  fishes.  The  round  eye  is  inferior  to  the  almond- 
shaped  for  distinguishing  form^:  thus  round-eyed  animals  and 
fishes  mistake  a  man  for  an  inanimate  object,  and,  from  their 
shortness  of  vision,  approach  him  without  fear.  These  gen- 
eral and  specific  reasons  convince  me  that  fishes  are  short- 
sighted, and  that,  while  quick  to  detect  action,  they  are  slow 
to  distinguish  form. 

SECTION  FIFTH. 

ON     TASTE     IN     FISHES. 

The  sense  of  taste  in  both  birds  and  fishes,  which  subsist 
on  similar  food,  is  less  acute  than  in  other  animals,  a  circum- 
stance strongly  indicated  by  the  hard,  gristly  texture  of  the 
tongue  when  it  exists,  which  it  may  scarcely  be  said  to  do 
in  all  fishes,  though  it  is  very  distinct  in  the  CypHnidce,  and 
rather  less  so  in  the  genus  Salmo. 

Dr.  Rennie  states  that  numerous  experiments  made  by  him 
on  birds  whose  food  consists  of  small  fruit  and  insects,  which 
they  swallow  without  breaking,  leads  him  to  conclude  that 
they  choose  some  and  reject  others,  not  by  taste,  but  by 
touch,  probably  aided  by  smell ;  and  he  adds,  "  I  have  no 
doubt  it  is  the  same  with  fishes ;  at  least  it  is  obvious,  from 
their  so  generally  swallowing  their  food  without  chewing  or 
bmising  it,  that,  even  if  they  possessed  acute  taste,  it  could 
not  aid  them  in  the  discrimination." 

C 


34  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

The  large  tongue  in  the  carp  may  have  been  providentially 
furnished  to  give  it  a  more  acute  taste  for  preventing  it  from 
being  poisoned  by  eating  water  hemlock,  or  other  deleterious 
plants,  as  it  is  known  to  feed  on  water-plants.  That  all  fish 
are  not  thus  provided^with  taste  sufficiently  acute  to  enable 
them  to  reject  what  is  poisonous,  appears  from  the  practice 
of  poachers  in  poisoning  fish  by  pulverizing  and  making  a 
paste  of  fisher's  berries,  or  Gocculus  indicus^  which  they  form 
into  balls  about  the  size  -of  peas  and  cast  into  the  water. 
Fish  greedily  swallow  these,  and,  becoming  intoxicated  or 
palsied  thereby,  float  to  the  surface  of  the  water  and  are  eas- 
ily caught,  or  soon  die.  Chub  and  dace  are  ready  victims 
to  this  device,  as  are  also  the  black  bass,  Oswego,  yellow, 
white,  rock,  and  all  the  varieties  of  lake  and  river  bass.  It 
is  always  dangerous  to  purchase  fish  out  of  season  any 
where ;  but  residents  of  cities  should  be  especially  careful 
who  they  purchase  from,  and  the  safest  houses  are  those  which 
deal  largely  with  fishing  firms  of  established  reputation. 

Teeth  of  fishes  appear  destined  more  especially  for  laying 
hold  and  detaining  their  prey  than  for  chewing.  With  this 
view  they  are  bent  inward,  like  tenter-hooks,  so  that  fishes, 
howsoever  small  and  slippery,  are  forced  back  into  the  gul- 
let, and  their  escape  or  return  prevented.  It  is  no  doubt 
with  the  same  design  that  the  throats  of  many  fish  are  stud- 
ded with  what  M.  Bory  St.  Vincent  terms  a  pavement  of 
teeth.  Such  fishes  as  have  teeth  thus  placed  far  back  on  the 
palate  and  upper  part  of  the  throat,  while  in  their  jaws  they 
have  none,  are  termed  by  anglers  "leather-mouthed,"  but 
technically  malacostomata. 

Anglers  of  the  British  Isles  reckon  among  the  principal  of 
leather  -  mouthed  fishes  the  minnow,  gudgeon,  roach,  loach, 
bleak,  chub,  daces,  barbel,  bream,  rud,  tench,  carp,  and  other 
minor  fishes.  The  salmon  and  the  pike  have  teeth  in  the 
jaws  and  in  all  parts  of  the  mouth,  and  the  perch  in  all  parts 
of  the  mouth  except  the  tongue.  The  sturgeon  and  sucker, 
again,  have  no  teeth  whatever. 


Bony  and  Leather  Mouths.  35 

The  division  of  anglers'  fishes  into  such  as  are  and  such  as 
are  not  leather-mouthed  may  be  important  to  the  young  an- 
gler, as  different  management  is  required  in  playing  each. 
Old  anglers  considered  such  fishes  leather-mouthed  as  have 
their  teeth  in  the  throat.  Hooks  seldom  part  their  hold  from 
the  mouths  of  such  fishes,  which  are  not  generally  regarded 
as  gamy,  though  good  sport  for  ladies  and  youth.  But  the 
contrary  is  the  case  with  the  striped  bass,  squeteague,  pick- 
erel, maskinonge,  perch,  and  most  game  fishes  which  are 
white-meated.  These  have  a  bony  mouth,  and  not  much 
flesh  or  skin  to  hold  a  hook;  therefore  you  are  never  sure 
of  landing  these  fish  unless  you  play  them  so  lightly  as  i^ot 
to  permit  them  a  foot  of  slack  line,  except,  perchance,  they 
have  gorged  the  hook. 

That  water-grasses  and  some  other  plants  are  partly  the 
food  of  leather-mouthed  fishes,  especially  of  the  carp  genus, 
is  unquestionable ;  and  in  the  Orient  herbivorous  fishes  are 
^considered  the  most  delicate  and  highly  prized.  But  when 
they  feed  on  liver,  brewers'  grains,  boiled  barley,  split  peas, 
and  the  like,  they  probably  mistake  these  for  the  eggs  or  co- 
coons of  water  animals,  inasmuch  as  they  could  not  procure  a 
supply  of  these  except  by  rare  accident.  That  some  fish  may 
feed  on  the  seeds  of  such  plants  as  are  scattered  about  the 
.water  is  not  improbable,  and  it  may  have  been  from  observ- 
ing this  that  it  is  recommended  by  Lebault  and  Debraw,  aft- 
er removing  the  fish  to  let  fish-ponds  dry,  to  sow  them  with 
oats  or  other  grain,  and,  when  it  is  ripe,  to  let  the  water 
again  into  the  pond,  and  bring  back  the  fish  to  feed.  Bowlker 
remarks  that  carp  will  eat  barley,  wheat,  or  oaten  bread, 
while  tench  and  perch  will  not  touch  it.  Of  course  perch 
prefer  meats  to  vegetable  diet ;  but  as  the  tench  differs  with 
the  carp  upon  vegetable  diet,  both  being  vegetarians,  it 
proves  that  fishes. have  discriminative  tastes. 

Most  leather-mouthed  fishes  like  both  vegetable  and  ani- 
mal diet,  and  the  cafp  is  said  to  devour  young  eels,  frog- 
spawn,  fish-roe,  and  young  fishes,  including  its  own  species. 


36  Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 

as  well  as  water  insects,  which  are  the  staple  food  of  every 
kind  of  fish  from  the  minnow  to  the  salmon ;  every  thing  that 
lives  and  moves  being  swallowed  without — so  far  as  has  been 
found — any  discrimination  of  species  or  much  nicety  of  se- 
lection. 

SECTION  SIXTH. 

ON   SMELL   IN   EISHBS. 

Smelling  in  land  animals  is  immediately  connected  with 
breathing,  and  we  can  not  easily  conceive  how  smell  is  pro- 
duced except  by  a  current  of  air,  in  which  odoriferous  parti- 
cles are  diffused,  passing  through  a  moistened  channel,  as  was 
so  admirably  described  by  Schneider  two  hundred  years  ago ; 
but  in  fishes  which  do  not  breathe,  smell  can  not  be  thus  pro- 
duced, though  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  their  being  endowed 
with  this  sense.  Water,  indeed,  is  as  good  a  medium  for  dif- 
fusing odors  as  air,  and  there  is  the  less  necessity  for  a  cur- 
rent of  this  being  produced  through  the  nostrils,  as  fish  move 
about  so  constantly  through  the  water.  Their  nostrils,  there- 
fore, are  generally  large,  but  imperforate  backward ;  that  is, 
they  do  not  communicate  with  the  throat ;  but  in  some  fishes, 
such  as  rays  and  sharks,  the  nostril  opens  by  a  considerable 
space  into  the  mouth,  and  through  this  a  current  of  water 
may  probably  run.  M.  Dumeril  and  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Daniell 
think  that,  from  the  structure  of  the  nostril  and  the  want  of 
an  aerial  medium  for  odors,  fishes  can  not  smell  at  all,  and 
that  their  nostrils  perform  a  function  similar  to  taste ;  but  to 
a  late  professor  of  zoology  in  King's  College,  London,  this 
supposition  appears  improbable.  From  all  that  I  have  dis- 
covered, I  feel  confident  that  a  majority  of  anglers  and  men 
of  science  believe  that  smell  in  fishes  is  quite  palpable.  Smell- 
ing substances  for  enticing  fish  to  the  hook  are  recommended 
by  too  many  honorable  names  to  leave  a  shadow  of  doubt 
upon  the  subject.  Walton,  for  example,  recommends  numer- 
ous strong-smelling  pastes  for  attracting  fish  to  the  bait,  stat- 
ing that  "  old  Oliver  Henley,  now  with  God,  a  noted  fisher 


Composition  Baits.  37 

both  for  trout  and  salmon,"  contended  in  favor  of  acuteness 
in  the  smell  of  fishes.  In  an  old  volume  on  "  The  Secrets  of 
Angling,"  by  J.  Davors,  published  in  1813,  I  find  the  fol- 
lowing : 

"  To  bless  thy  bait  and  make  the  fish  to  bite, 
Lo !  here's  a  means,  if  thou  canst  hit  it  right : 
Take  gum  of  life,  well  beat  and  Is^id  to  soak 
In  oil  well  drawn  of  ivy  which  kills  the  oak. 
Fish  where  thou  wilt,  thou  shalt  have  sport  thy  fill ; 
When  others  fail,  thou  shalt  be  sure  to  kill." 

M.  Chars,  who  was  apothecary  to  Louis  XTV.,  composed  a 
perfume  which  attracted  all  kinds  of  fresh-water  fishes  by  the 
use  of  cat's  fat,  heron's  grease,  the  best  asafoetida,  Egyptian 
mummy  finely  powdered,  aniseed,  camphor,  galbanum,  Yen- 
ice  turpentine,  and  civet.  These  he  made  into  the  consist- 
ence of  thin  ointment  by  means  of  oil  of  lavender,  of  aniseed, 
and  camomile,  which  may  be  preserved  for  a  year  or  two  if 
kept  where  the  air  is  excluded.  The  bait  and  about  eigtt 
inches  of  line  are  directed  to  be  anointed- with  this  to  attract 
fish. 

Of  the  numerous  scented-baits  recommended,  Walton  wrote 
in  favor  of  petroleum,  and  Daniell  suggested  that  tar  is  most 
attractive  in  the  composition  of  a  scented  ointment  for  bait. 
But  the  most  fascinating  of  such  pastes  for  fresh-water  fishes  is 
that  composed  of  the  roe  of  salmon ;  and  I  should  be  opposed 
to  its  use  if  millions  of  salmon-eggs  were  not  annually  wasted 
along  most  of  the  salmon  rivers ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that, 
by  the  means  of  science,  some  successful  theory  may  soon  be 
adopted  for  turning  this  seed  into  the  waters  to  restock  them, 
for  it  is  morally  revolting  to  an  angler  to  contemplate  the 
great  loss  by  the  depletion  of  the  waters  from  the  waste  of 
ova.  While  the  wholesale  waste  continues,  those  who  desire 
to  make  bait  from  the  roe  of  fishes  should  sprinkle  it  with 
salt,  and  then  put  it  down  in  a  pot  in  alternate  layers  with 
wool.  Rev.  W.  B.  Daniell  advised  the  taking  of  a  pound  of 
roe  in  September,  and,"  after  boiling  it  fifteen  minutes,  beat  it 
in  a  mortar  until  sufficiently  mixed  with  an  ounce  of  salt  and 


38  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

an  ounce  of  saltpetre,  the  membrane  in  which  the  spawn  is 
contained  being  carefully  picked  out ;  it  is  then  packed  in 
jars  and  covered  closely ;  in  that  way  it  will  keep  good  for 
many  months. 

It  is  suggested  that  roe  of  other  fishes  would  do  as  well  as 
that  of  salmon — such  as  herrings,  because  the  smell,  which 
seems  the  chief  attraction,  is  quite  similar.  A  paste  made  in 
the  same  way  from  shelled  shrimps  is  also  attractive.  Mus- 
sels and  putrid  meat  attract  eels,  obviously  in  consequence 
of  their  odor. 

Independently  of  these  and  all  other  ascertained  facts  re- 
specting smell  in  fishes,  the  anatomy  of  the  head  proves  that 
the  nerves  of  smell  are  large,  and  thus  establish  conclusively 
the  fact  that  fishes  are  gifted  with  the  sense  of  smell. 

SECTION  SEVENTH. 

ON   HEARING  IN  EISHES. 

Fishes  hear.  Of  this  I  feel  quite  sure,  without  the  story 
of  Amphion  and  the  Dolphins,  or  of  the  auld  Scottish  harper 
Glenkindie,  who — as  related  in  verse — "  harped  a  fish  out  o' 
the  sa't  water." 

^lian  tells  us  that  the  chad  is  allured  by  the  sound  of 
castanets,  and  in  Germany  they  take  these  fishes  with  nets 
to  which  bows  of  wood  hung  with  little  bells  are  attached 
in  such  manner  as  to  chime  in  harmony  when  the  nets  are 
moved.  These  fish,  it  is  stated,  will  not  attempt  to  escape 
while  the  bells  continue  to  ring.  On  the  Continent  of  Eu- 
rope people  are  in  the  habit  of  calling  the  gold  fishes,  as  well 
as  other  fishes  in  ponds,  to  be  fed  at  the  sound  of  a  bell. 

Professor  Bradley  states  that  in  Rotterdam,  at  a  preserve 
of  carps  owned  by  Mr.  Eden,  he  saw  them  fed.  "  The  gen- 
tleman having  filled  his  pocket  with  spinach-seed,  conducted 
me  to  the  side  of  the  moat,  whefe  we  stood  mute  for  some 
time,  the  better  to  convince  me  that  the  fish  would  not  come 
until  called.  At  length  he  called  in  his  usual  way,  and  im- 
mediately the  fish  gathered  together  from  all  parts  of  the 


Fishes  have  sensitive  Eaks.  39 

pond  in  such  numbers  that  there  was  scarcely  room  for  them 
to  lie.  by  one  another,  and  then  he  threw  some  spinach-seed 
among  them,  which  they  devoured  very  greedily.  This  .sat- 
isfied me  that  fishes  have  the  sense  of  hearing."  Sir  Walter 
Rogers,  an  English  gentleman,  had  a  pond  of  pikes  which 
members  of  his  household  called  together  at  pleasure ;  and  as 
carnivorous  fishes  are  more  wild  and  untamable  than  are 
those  which  feed  on  herbs,  it  offers  the  most  palpable  proof 
that  iishes  hear. 

M.  Lebault  advises  fish  culturists  not  to  permit  shooting 
about  the  ponds  for  wild-fowl,  etc.,  as  it  frightens,  injures, 
and  destroys  the  fish.  This  opinion  is  also  entertained  by 
celebrated  physiologists ;  and  John  Hunter,  who  describes  the 
ear  of  fishes — always,  he  says,  important — as  consisting  of'  a 
gristly  substance,  very  hard  and  firm  in  parts,  and  in  some 
species  crusted  over  with  a  thin  plate  of  bone,  so  as  not  to 
permit  it  to  collapse.  The  ear  of  fishes  he  also  remarked  to 
possess  the  singular  peculiarity  of  increasing  with  the  size 
of  the  individual,  whereas  in  quadrupeds,it  is  nearly  as  large 
in  the  young  as  in  the  full-grown  animal. 

"  When  in  Portugal,"  said  Dr. Hunter," in  1762, 1  observed 
in  a  nobleman's  garden  near  Lisbon  a  small  fish-pond  full 
of  different  kinds  of  fishes.  Its  bottom  was  level  with  the 
ground,  and  was  made  by  forming  a  bank  all  round,  with  a 
shrubbery  close  to  it.  While  lying  on  the  bank  seeing  the 
fish,  I  desired  a  gentleman  who  was  my  companion  to  go  be- 
hind the  shrubs  (that  there  be  no  reflection  from  the  flash) 
and  fire  his  gun.  The  moment  the  report  was  made  the  fish 
seemed  universally  affected,  for  they  vanished  immediately, 
raising,  As  it  were,  a  cloud  of  mud  from  the  bottom.  In 
about  five  minutes  afterward  they  began  to  appear  and 
swim  about  as  before." 

The  discussions  of  Dr.  Munro,  Geoffroi,  Comparetti,  Scarpa, 
Weber,  and  De  Blainville,  may  be  referred  to,  as  their  works 
fully  settle  the  question  in  favor  of  hearing  in  fishes.  Weber 
discovered  a  communication  between  the  ear  in  fishes  and 


40 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


the  swim-bladder,  the  air  contained  in  which  is  probably  af- 
fected by  sound;  and  De  Blainville  expresses  his  astonish- 
ment at  the  mas^nitude  of  their  nerves  of  hearins^. 

It  is  superfluous  to  multiply  examples  of  fishes  coming 
when  called  by  a  whistle  or  a  bell.  I  have  frequently  called 
them  to  me  by  whistling  for  them  at  various  fountains  and 
ponds  in  France,  where  the  chief  of  the  Fisheries  Commis- 
sion, M.  Coste,  is  stated  not  only  to  contend  that  all  fishes 
hear,  but  that  some  of  them  talk  !  From  all  the  evidence 
pro  and  cow,  I  am  convinced  that  fishes  possess  the  sense  of 
heariuG:. 


Large  and  ai^xious  Families.  41 


CHAPTER  n. 

FECUNDITY  OF  FISHES. 

First.  Mammalia,  including  whales,  porpoises,  and  all  fish- 
es which  bring  forth  alive  and  suckle  their  young,  whether 
herbivorous  or  carnivorous,  seldom  have  more  than  one  or 
two  young  at  a  birth,  which  sailors  term  calves. 

Second.  The  families  of  which  the  salmon  and  trout  are 
the  heads  are  called  by  naturalists  the  genus  Salmo.  These 
fishes  have  the  palpable  mark  of  an  adipose  second  dorsal 
fin ;  their  meat  is  of  a  tint  between  mallow  and  pink,  and 
they  are  regarded  by  anglers  and  epicures  as  the  highest 
game  and  most  luxurious  fishes  of  the  oviparous  class,  or 
those  fishes  which  replenish  their  species  by  laying  eggs, 
which  are  vivified  by  the  milt  of  the  male,- and  then,  after  a 
time,  the  eggs  hatch  in  the  water.  This  process  is  common 
to  all  egg-laying  fishes ;  but,  while  eggs  of  the  salmo  genus 
require  from  three  to  four  months  to  ha^tch,  those  of  the  clii- 
pea  genus  hatch  in  as  many  days.  Seth  Green  hatched  shad 
artificially  on  the  Connecticut  River  within  forty  hours  from 
the  time  the  ova  and  milt  fell  into  the  hatching-boxes  in  the 
stream — being  the  main  current  of  the  river — and  not  in 
boxes  so  placed  as  that  a  stream  should  run  through  or  over 
them,  but  anchored  so  as  to  float  in  the  current  of  the  river, 
submerging  a  sufiicient  portion  of  them  for  keeping  the  egg^ 
covered  with  water  to  a  sufficient  depth.  A  salmon  is  sup- 
posed to  lay  a  thousand  eggs  for  every  pound  the  mother 
fish  weighs,  consequently  they  avjerage  from  ten  to  thirty 
thousand  for  each  pair. 

Third.  Included  in  this  class  are  all  the  oviparous  tribes 
but  those  of  the  genus  Salmo.     The  number  of  eggs  in  the 


42  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

roe  of  some  of  these  fishes  is  so  great  as  to  appear  almost  in- 
credible. While  the  carp  and  the  sturgeon  produce  from 
half  a  million  to  a  million  and  a  half,  the  celebrated  Dutch 
naturalist  Leuwenhoeck  reckoned  that  the  codfish  contains 
over  nine  millions  of  eggs.  This  estimate  was  based  upon 
weighing  accurately  a  small  part  of  the  roe  and  counting  the 
eggs,  then  weighing  the  remainder,  and  estimating  the  whole 
from  the  part  counted.  Without  doubt  the  fecundity  of  all 
the  food-fishes  of  the  sea  is  beyond  human  estimate ;  so  that, 
if  all  the  spawn  should  be  fructified  by  the  male  fishes,  the 
vast  body  of  fishes  would,  within  a  few  years,  become  too 
great  for  the  waters  to  contain. 

SECTION  SECOND. 
voracity  of  fishes. 

The  innumerable  shoals  of  young  fishes  constitute  the  chief 
part  of  the  food  for  larger  ones,  and  even  those  full  grown 
often  meet  in  fierce  combat,  when  the  one  which  has  the 
widest  throat  comes  off  victorious  by  swallowing  his  oppo- 
nent. Fish,  being  cold-blooded  animals,  are  not  susceptible 
to  an  acute  sense  of  pain ;  thus  it  does  not  hurt  an  eel  much 
to  be  skinned,  and  a  shark  has  been  observed  to  seek  prey  for 
some  time  after  he  was  split  open  and  entirely  eviscerated. 
The  prettiest  and  most  playful  of  fishes,  almost  domesticated 
in  private  ponds,  do  not  fail  occasionally  to  devour  such 
members  of  their  own  family  as  venture  near  enough.  Sir 
William  Jardine  states  that  "the  lake  trout  are  very  rapa- 
cious, and,  after  attaining  the  weight  of  three  or  four  pounds, 
feed  almost  exclusively  on  small  fish,  not  sparing  even  their 
own  young." 

This  being  true  of  the  finny  tribes  generally,  how  malapro- 
pos is  the  sympathy  extended  for  them  by  good  souls  who 
do  not  understand  the  savage  character  of  the  objects  of  their 
solicitude.  Such  was  the  poet  Dr.  Walcott,  author  of  the  fol- 
lowing verses : 


Cruelty  of  Fishes.  4S 

"  Why  flyest  thou  away  with  fear  ? 
Trust  me,  there's  naught  of  danger  near  : 

I  have  no  wicked  hook, 
All  covered  with  a  smarting  bait, 
Alas !  to  tempt  thee  to  thy  fate, 

And  drag  thee  from  the  brook. 
Oh  harmless  tenant  of  the  flood, 
I  do  not  wish  to  spill  thy  blood ; 

For  nature  unto  thee 
Perchance  has  given  a  tender  wife, 
And  children  dear,  to  charm  thy  life, 

As  she  hath  done  to  me. 
Enjoy  thy  stream,  oh  harmless  fish. 
And  when  an  angler,  for  his  dish. 

Through  gluttony's  vile  sin 
Attempts — a  wretch — to  pull  thee  o^t, 
God  give  thee  strength,  oh  gentle  trout, 

To  pull  the  rascal  in .'" 

Instances  are  common  of  fishes  following  a  hooked  one,  and, 
while  it  is  being  played  by  the  angler,  biting  pieces  out  of 
it,  and  sometimes  swallowing  it,  so  that  both  are  landed.  It 
may  be  readily  inferred  from  this  that  small  fish  form  at- 
tractive bait.  Fish  evince  no  mercy  for  any  living  thing 
which  inhabits  the  waters,  and  most  of  the  angler's  fishes 
feed  readily  on  their  own  broods.  As  fish  are  generally  at- 
tracted by  the  sight  or  smell  of  blood,  red  feathers,  burnt 
wool,  and  scarlet  braid,  etc.,  are  found  to  fascinate  them  when 
attached  to  trolls ;  especially  is  this  proven  to  be  the  case 
in  trolling  for  bluefish,  black  bass,  and  maskinonge. 

I  therefore  conclude  that,  as  the  principal  food  of  all  fishes 
consists  of  animals  and  animalculse,  with  water-insects,  and 
the  spawn  deposited  in  the  waters,  these  last  seeming  to  form 
the  dainties  most  eagerly  sought  by  them,  so  the  unlimited 
voracity  of  fishes,  which  has  no  counterpart  in  any  other 
branch  of  animal  creation,  may  be  one  of  the  means  wisely 
ordered  to  check  an  excessive  multiplication ;  and  that  their 
extraordinary  fecundity  is  probably  a  provision  of  nature  for 
supplying  an  adequate  amount  of  food,  upon  the  same  prin- 
ciple that  land  insects  are  so  greatly  multiplied  probably  for 
supplying  food  to  birds. 


4:4  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

TIMES    OF   FEEDING   AND    HAUNTS    OF   FISHES. 

Most  fish  are  said  to  be  night-feeders,  yet  all  of  them  feed 
more  or  less  in  daytime.  Like  spiders,  all  of  which  feed  in 
the  night,  and  are  tempted  to  come  abroad  when  the  weather 
is  so  cloudy  as  to  resemble  twilight,  so  also  the  fishes,  with 
this  farther  peculiarity,  that  a  turbid  state  of  the  water  from 
recent  rains  may  so  dim  the  light  that  they  will  bite  when 
the  sun  shines  brightly. 

When  the  weather  is  bright  and  the  water  clear,  most 
fishes  keep  their  places  of  retirement,  some  among  reeds  and 
other  water-plants,  some  under  banks  or  ledges  of  rock,  lurk- 
ing in  deeper  and  deeper  water  as  the  weather  becomes 
warmer,  so  that  the  feeding-level  for  lake  trout,  which  is  often 
from  four  to  eight  feet  in  early  spring,  is  found  from  fifty  to 
a  hundred  feet  below  the  surface  in  July  and  August.  Rivei- 
fishes  seek  the  shade  of  overhanging  trees;  some  under 
stones;  some  squatting  close  to  the  ground  over  springs, 
sand,  or  in  the  sludge  at  the  bottom  of  the  water.  In  difier- 
ent  waters,  however,  there  are  peculiarities  of  currents,  ed- 
dies, and  pools  that  fish  are  fond  of  haunting,  concerning 
which  no  practical  rule  of  general  utility  can  be  laid  down. 
Waters,  to  be  most  successfully  fished,  must  be  first  under- 
stood by  fishing  them. 

STRENGTH    AND   PROPULSIVE    POWER. 

The  true  indication  of  a  fish's  strength  is  found  in  the 
shape  of  its  head  and  shoulders  back  to  the  first  dorsal  fin, 
while  its  speed  or  propulsive  power  is  shown  by  its  shape 
from  the  front  of  the  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  to  the  end 
of  the  tail,  and  the  shape  of  this  caudal  continuation.  Of  the 
forked-tail,  it  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  swordfish 
and  salmon  are  supposed  to  be  the  most  rapid  swimmers, 
while  of  the  square-tails  the  brook  trout  and  squeteague  are 
supposed  to  propel  with  the  greatest  velocity.    Among  fishes 


Professor  Boeelli's  Experiments.  45 

which  unite  the  greatest  velocity  with  the  greatest  degree  of 
strength  must  be  reckoned  the  whale ;  for,  struck  with  a  har- 
poon or  spear  with  a  line  attached,  the  leviathan  of  the  waters 
darts  down  into  the  deep  with  such  velocity  that  if  the  line 
were  to  entangle  it  would  either  be  broken  or  the  boat  would 
be  capsized.  Upon  the  act  of  striking  a  whale,  therefore,  one 
man  is  stationed  to  give  his  whole  attention  to  the  line  run- 
ning off  clear,  while  another  is  employed  to  pour  water  con- 
tinually on  the  wood  over  which  the  line  runs,  to  prevent  ig- 
nition by  friction.  The  angler  knows  that  the  sheepshead 
has  this  power  of  diving  with  the  velocity  of  lightning ;  so 
have  all  fishes  which  are  swift  and  wide  compared  to  their 
length.  In  diving  or  darting  upward,  the  swim-bladder  is  a 
great  assistance,  as  it  is  found  to  be  compressed  while  the 
fish  is  at  the  bottom,  and  expanded  when  the  fish  is  on  the 
surface  of  the  water.  Probably  the  salmon  and  the  bluefish 
unite  the  greatest  amount  of  muscular  strength  to  the  great- 
est power  of  propulsion.  Other  fishes  of  our  coast,  such  as 
the  Spanish  mackerel,  bonetta,  cerus,  and  the  horse  mackerel, 
add  to  the  muscularity  of  the  salmon  and  bluefish  the  propul- 
sive power  of  the  swordfish  and  the  dolphin.  The  pectorals, 
ventrals,  and  anal  fins  assist  the  fish  in  maintaining  its  bal- 
ance or  level  position  of  body.  In  experimenting  upon  the 
use  of  fins.  Professor  Borelli,  of  Naples,  ascertained  that  after 
clipping  off  the  pectoral,  ventral,  and  anal  fins  of  fishes,  all 
their  motions  became  unsteady,  and  they  reeled  frem  right  to 
left,  and  up  and  down,  in  such  irregular  manner  as  to  prove 
that  they  were  left  at  the  mercy  of  their  voracious  neighbors 
of  the  deep. 


46  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


CHAPTER  m. 

COAST  AND  ESTUARY  FISHES. 

As  the  fishes  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  America,  in- 
cluding those  of  the  estuaries  and  tidal  waters  which  debouch 
along  our  coast,  are  more  numerous,  and  include  a  greater  va- 
riety for  both  the  angler  and  the  commercial  fisherman  than 
do  the  finny  trilJes  of  the  coasts  of  any  other  country,  and  as 
nearly  every  American  angler  of  a  tidal  river  regards  the 
striped  bass  as  the  fish  of  fishes  par  excellence  to  be  angled 
for,  I  trust  that  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  placing  this  beauty 
first  on  the  list,  and  showing  some  of  the  artistic  ways  for 
taking^  him. 


•  The  Striped  Bass. 

This  fish,  so  beautiful  and  gamesome,  is  peculiar  to  the 
tidal  waters  and  estuaries  of  the  rivers  which  enipty  on  the 
coast  of  the  Atlantic  from  Portland  to  Norfolk.  The  striped 
bass  is  known  farther  north  and  south,  but  it  exists  in  the 
most  perfect  state  in  the  rivers  and  along  the  coast  between 
the  points  named.  It  affords  good  sport  with  light  tackle 
when  its  weight  is  but  half  a  pound ;  and  it  tries  both  the 
metal  and  skill  of  an  angler  after  it  rises  to  the  ponderous 
importance  of  ten  pounds,  though  it  is  said  to  attain  to  the 


Appearance  and  Habits  of  Steiped  Bass,         47 

weight  of  nearly  a  hundred.  I  have  captured  but  one  whicli 
weighed  over  forty  pounds,  although  I  have  angled-  for  them 
every  season  for  the  past  thirty  years.  It  is  great  game 
when  weighing  any  where  from  ten  to  thirty  pounds.  In 
muscular  power  the  striped  bass  equals  the  salmon,  but  it 
lacks  the  caudal  power  for  leaping,  which  is  so  palpable  in 
the  form  of  a  salmon,  back  of  its  adipose  fin,  including  its 
crescent-shaped  tail. 

This  fish  is  known  south  of  New  Jersey  as  the  rockfish ; 
but  as  no  two  ichthyologists  agree  upon  a  classical  name  for 
the  fish,  it  had  probably  best  be  called  the  name  by  which  it 
is  known  where  the  greatest  numbers  are  taken,  and  there  it  • 
is  known  only  as  the  steiped  bass  ;  and  as  there  is  no  other 
fish  which  at  all  resembles  it,  there  is  no  chance  of  mistake. 
It  approximates  the  Perca  genus^  the  front  dorsal  fin  being 
composed  of  seven  spinous  or  spiked  rays,  and  having  twa 
nearly  concealed  spines.  Its  scales  are  rather  large,  and  of 
metallic  lustre;  gill-covers  serrated  and  edges  sharp.  The 
color  of  the  back  is  a  blending  of  black,  blue,  and  green,  light- 
ing to  bluish-gray  at  the  sides,  and  to  a  ^atin  white  belly. 
The  longitudinal  stripes  are  usually  seven  or  eight  in  number, 
and  are  like  narrow  black  braids,  sparkling  with  silver  or 
diamonds  and  emerald.  Its  symmetry,  marks,  and  satin  sheen 
render  it  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  interesting  fishes  in 
the  w^orld,  independent  of  its  great  game,  generous  play,  and 
luxury  as  a  dinner  fish. 

The  striped  bass  is  eminently  domestic  in  his  habits.  He 
is  not  given  to  wandering  or  vagrancy.  He  is  generally  to 
be  found  at  home  and  in  good  condition.  The  female  de- 
posits her  eggs  in  fresh  and  brackish  waters,  but  never  in  the 
sea.  In  November  the  bass  shoal  and  congregate  in  brackish 
water-ponds,  or  back  waters  of  tidal  rivers,  or  in  the  bays  and 
bayous  of  rivers  which  have  an  outlet  to  the  sea,  after  which 
time  it  will  not  take  bait  until  the  following  spring,  after 
having  spawned  and  returned  to  active  waters.  The  ponds 
formed  by  the  back  water  of  the  Seconnet  River  were,  a  few 


48  Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 

winters  since,  so  full  of  striped  bass  that  the  fish  were  dis- 
covered by  their  dorsal  fins  in  the  ice,  where  they  had  been 
frozen  by  too  close  packing.  The  ice  was  cut,  and  hundreds 
of  cart-loads  were  pitched  out  with  forks  and  taken  to 
market. 

Striped  bass  will  live  and  increase  when  confined  to  fresh 
water,  but  its  shape  then  becomes  changed,  and  instead  of  its 
symmetry  and  lustre  when  having  access  to  both  fresh  and 
salt  waters,  it  becomes  more  chubbed,  and  its  colors  less  scin- 
tillant.  This  I  discovered  in  those  I  took  in  the  upper  part 
of  Lake  Ontario,  and  it  corroborates  the  opinion  which  I  have 
heard  expressed  by  other  anglers  and  fish-culturists. 

These  fish  delight  in  rocky  shoals,  among  which  they  flap 
their  tails  and  rub  their  scales  as  they  prospect,  for  Crustacea^ 
of  which'  shedder  and  soft-shell  crabs  they  consider  great  del- 
.icacies.  Their  great  power  and  swiftness  enable  them  to  for- 
age with  impunity  for  disabled  menhaden,  spearing,  shrimp, 
crabs,  shedder  lobsters,  etc.,  among  the  breakers,  as  they  lasb 
and  lave  the  rocky  shores  of  our  coast ;  and  it  is  at  such 
times,  when  the  sea  is  agitated,  that  casting  for  them  from 
the  rocks  with  rod,  and  reel,  and  menhaden  bait,  that  the 
sport  is  rendered  more  pleasingly  exciting  and  attractive 
than  angling  for  any  other  game  fish. 

The  angler  pursues  many  methods  for  capturing  this  beau- 
ty of  the  estuary,  the  chief  of  which  are  still-baiting  from  an 
anchored  boat  along  the  edge  of  the  tide,  trolling  with  live 
squid  (small  cuttle-fish),  and  casting  with  menhaden  bait — but 
without  sinker — into  the  surf  of  a  rocky  beach,  along  the 
shores  and  islands  from  New  York  to  Martha's  Vineyard. 

SECTION  SECOND. 

ANGLING  FOR   STRIPED   BASS. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  proximately  realize  the  char- 
acter of  the  striped  bass  as  a  game  fish,  I  propose  taking  him 
with  me  on  several  excursions  after  the  lustrous  beauty. 
And,  first,  we  will  try  him  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York.     The 


Effects  of  an  easterly  Westd.  49 

weather  and  tide  are  favorable,  and  the  moon  is  right  for  giv- 
ing fish  an  excellent  appetite  and  great  activity.  Fishes  in 
waters  near  the  ocean  bite  best  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
moon,  while  those  which  are  up  ri^^ers  and  creeks,  near  fresh 
water,  bite  best  at  full  tides,  and  immediately  after  a  "  nor'- 
easter,"  when  the  wind,  having  backed  round  by  the  south, 
has  settled  in  the  northwest.  You  may  prove  these  facts 
without  going  a  dozen  miles  from  the  metropolis ;  and  I  have 
always  noticed  that  it  is  better  fishing  in  "  the  Kills"  and  at 
the  hedges  of  Newark  Bay,  as  well  as  at  those  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  Bay  of  New  York,  when  the  tide  is  low,  while  the 
fishing  at  King's  Bridge  and  Spuyten  Duyvel  is  best  at  very 
high  tides.  ^  The  only  exception  to  this  rule  is  applicable  to 
i-eefs  and  low  rocky  shoals,  where  bass  forage  most  during 
high  tides. 

As  we  are  to  try  the  bass  to-morrow,  suppose  we  make  a 
day  of  it  ?  Well,  that  being  agreed  to,  we  will  first  try  Har- 
lem River,  or  the  creek  at  King's  Bridge.  Being  an  angler, 
you  of  course  know  that  the  baits  here  are  confined  to  shrimp 
early  in  spring  and  late  in  autumn ;  to  soft-shell  and  shedder 
crab  in  the  summer  and  until  the  middle  of  October ;  after 
which  soft-shell  clam  for  the  English  Neighborhood  Bridge, 
and  shrimp,  with  an  occasional  shedder  lobster,  serve  as  baits 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  except  for  trolling  in  Hell  Gate, 
where  we  use  squid;  and  for  fishing  in  the  surf  at  Newport, 
and  along  the  coast  generally,  the  menhaden  is  preferred. 
Shad  roe  is  frequently  recommended  for  bass  bait.  I  once 
tried  it  at  Saybrook,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  Riv- 
er, where  the  bass  were  said  to  bite  it  unconditionally;  but, 
though  I  stood  on  the  platform  and  fished  from  it,  I  did  not 
capture  a  single  fish.  It  was  not  because  the  bass  did  not 
like  the  bait,  but  rather  that  the  great  depth  of  water  and 
strength  of  tide  obliged  me  to  fish  with  a  heavy  tracing 
sinker,  and  the  fish  stole  my  bait  before  it  settled  on  the  bot- 
tom, because  I  was  not  prepared  with  the  means  of  porous 
muslin  wherein  to  tie  the  bait  over  the  hook.     I  have  never 

D 


50 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


tried  the  bait  since,  and  though  it  is  very  attractive,  it  is  un- 
pleasant to.  use.  The  thousands  of  barrels  of  shad  cured 
there  every  shad  season,  when  the  roe  is  thrown  into  the 
river,  attracts  myriads  of  striped  bass  every  May  and  June, 
causing  a  regret  that  Seth  Green  could  not  use  the  roe  of 
this  delicious  esculent  for  restocking  the  river  as  he  does  at 
Holyoke. 

Of  course  tackle  is  of  the  utmost  importance. .  As  we  are 
to  angle  for  small  bass,  with  crab  and  shrimp  bait,  we  will 
rig  light,  and  as  represented  by  the  following  engraving  : 


Tackle  for  taking  Small  Bass. 

A.  Solid  Cork-float.  B.  Swivel  Sinker.  C.  Piece  of  the  top  of  Rod,  showing  the 
double  guides  ;  on  one  side  bell-metal,  and  the  other  agate.  D.  Agate  or  Cameli- 
an  tip  to  screw  into  the  top  of  the  rod.  E.  Upper  Hook,  rigged  a  foot  above  the  oth- 
er hook  for  shrimp.  F.  Lower  Hook,  for  baiting  with  shedder  crab.  G,  H.  Single- 
gut  Leader.  I.  Line ;  of  either  linen  twisted  or  silk  braided ;  very  small,  no  larger 
than  for  trout,  but  from  300  to  400  feet  in  length. 

^    The  reel  should  be  a  multiplier,  without  any  stop,  check, 
or  drag ;  it  should  be  of  brass,  German  silver,  or  bell-metal, 
run  on  steel  or  agate  pivots,  and  with  a  balance  crank. 
The  rod  for  this  style  of  fishing  should  be  from  9  to  11 


Angling  at  King's  Bridge.  51 

feet  long,  bearing  in  mind  that  a  short,  stiff  rod  is  the  best 
to  cast  with,  but  not  so  good  to  play  a  fish  with  light  run- 
ning-tackle. Of  course  the  size  of  float  and  weight  of  sinker 
will  be  changed  to  suit  the  waters  and  the  tides. 

"  See  that  all  things  be  right, 
For  'twould  be  a  spite 
To  want  tools  when  a  man  goes  a-fishing." — Cotton. 

You  perceive  that  I  have  selected  one  hook  with  an 
O'Shaughnessy  bend  (E),  and  the  other  (F)  an  Aberdeen. 

Well,  brother  angler,  a  night  of  sound  sleep,  and  our  in- 
comparable breakfast  at  the  Astor,  with  our  drive  over  the 
Bloomingdale  Road  this  beautiful  morning,  has  so  enlivened 
me  to  a  sense  of  the  beautiful  that  I  feel  assured  we  shall 
have  good  sport  to-day,  and  enjoy  it.  This  is  King's  Bridge, 
the  name  of  the  most  spicy  and  succulent  oyster  that  ever 
graced  the  cuisine  of  a  Dorlon.  Our  horse  will  be  well  cared 
for  at  this  hotel,  for  the  host — an  admirable  caterer — appre- 
ciates anglers. 

We  will  first  see  what  sport  there  is  to  be  had  at  the  east 
bridge,  where  we  will  joint  our  rods,  and  rig  sinkers  and  floats 
according  to  the  movement  of  the  tide.  I  perceive  that  the 
tide  is  just  on  the  turn  to  flood.  Kig  light  for  half  an  hour, 
and  then  change  to  heavier  sinker  and  larger  float.  I  like 
bridge  fishing,  for,  after  making  a  cast,  you  may  humor  youi- 
line  so  as  to  lead  the  bait  in  the  most  angling  manner  from 
current  to  current ;  and  then,  in  striking  at  a  bite  forty  yards 
off,  there  is  so  much  sport  in  playing  your  fish  until  you  get 
him  into  the  slack  water  formed  by  the  piers  of  the  bridge ; 
and,  being  from  8  to  10  feet  above  the  water,  you  generally 
fasten  the  fish  at  the  first  bite.  Strike  !  You've  hooked  him  ! 
There !  give  him  play,  but  feel  his  weight,  and  make  him  con- 
tend for  every  foot  of  line  you  give  him,  or  he  will  take  the 
whole  without  exhausting  himself,  and  you  will  lose  him. 
Do  not  permit  him  to  run  back  on  you,  for  that  is  a  favorite 
dodge  of  these  striped  sides  to  get  slack  line,  and  enable  them 
to  dislodge  the  hook.     Keep  your  rod  up  nearly  perpendicu- 


52  J^'iSHiNG  IN  American  Waters. 

lar,  giving  him  the  benefit  of  its  spring,  for  he  is  bony-mouth- 
ed, though  the  teeth  in  his  uj^per  jaw  are  too  small  and  short 
to  bite,  or  even  chafe  oft  a  silk-worm  gut  snell.  Keep  your 
fish  out  of  the  swiftest  of  the  tide,  and,  after  playing  him  un- 
til he  succumbs  from  exhaustion,  land  him  on  the  shore,  for 
he  is  too  heavy  to  lift  upon  the  bridge.  Well  done  !  Now 
bait  quickly  and  cast  for  another.  You  perceive  that  at  the 
foot  of  the  rapid  tide  the  bass  lie  in  wait  for  bait,  for  our 
floats  dip  at  that  place.  But  the  fish  move  away  from  there 
after  the  tide  gets  running  its  full  strength,  and  an  hour  is  all 
of  first-rate  fishing  we  may  expect  in  one  tide,  therefore  it  is 
necessary  to  be  active  in  baiting  and  expert  at  casting  and 
playing  a  fish,  always  using  shrimp  on  the  upper  hook  and 
shedder  on  the  lower  one,  when  you  use  two  baits  at  a  time 
in  this  style  of  fishing.  Now,  as  the  tide  has  become  too 
swift  for  float-fishing,  just  step  into  this  boat,  and  we  will  row 
down  to  the  first  island  in  the  creek,  seventy-five  rods  beyond 
the  west  bridge,  and  try  Spuyten  Duyvel  Creek.  The  fish 
are  smaller  here,  but  they  bite  more  generously.  I  took  1 74 
here  in  one  day,  and  yet  Judge  Brevoort,  my  companion, 
beat  me  by  one  fish.  See  !  one  on  each  hook  at  every  cast ! 
Say  you  not  that  angling  for  small  bass  with  light  tackle 
forms  a  pleasing  excitement  ?  Well,  having  fished  out  the 
tide,  suppose  we  return  to  the  hotel  and  take  our  vehicle  for 
home  ?  This  place  is  accessible  by  public  conveyances  over 
several  routes,  but  as  it  is  only  eleven  miles  from  the  City 
Hall,  I  prefer  to  drive  out.  We  have  taken  between  thirty 
and  forty  bass  which  scale  from  half  a  pound  to  a  pound 
each — only  three  two-pound  fish  and  one  three-pounder ;  and 
this  may  be  regarded  as  an  average  morning's  sport. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

TROLLING   IN    HELL   GATE. 

You  doubtless  perceived,  brother  angler,  that  the  sport 
which  we  yesterday  enjoyed  at  King's  Bridge  might  be 
practiced  and  greatly  relished  by  ladies.     Many  ladies  of 


Angling  suited  to  Ladies.  53 

New  York  and  its  suburbs  are  experts  at  casting  a  fly  for 
trout  or  a  bait  for  bass ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  they  lend  one 
of  the  principal  charms  to  ruralizing.  I  do  not  like  the  pent- 
up,  hide-bound,  cynical  geniuses  of  the  Diogenes  quality,  nor 
yet  of  those  bachelors  whose  rectangular  apartments  each 
side  of  a  hall  in  our  hotels  are  not  inappropriately  consider- 
ed by  some  as  stalls  for  the  stray  oxen  of  society.  I  agree 
with  Brother  Lathy  that 

' '  No  scenes  more  suited  are  to  themes  of  love, 
Than  whilst  on  rivers'  banks  you  fish  and  rove ; 
T'  instruct  the  fair  the  happy  lover  tries, 
And,  grateful,  she  rewards  him  with  her  eyes. 
No  longer,  then,  our  angling  sports  disdain, 
Since  Venus  sprung  from  Ocean  poets  feign, 
Rising  all  beauteous  from  the  briny  main : 
As,  of  our  grief,  do  thou  partake  our  pleasure — 
Our  life,  our  heart,  our  soul,  our  earthly  treasure!" 

When  you  decide  to  troll  for  a  day  over  the  tumultuously- 
seething  and  hissing  waters  of  Hell  Gate,  where  an  oarsman 
must  know  the  tides  and  shoals  to  keep  his  boat  right  side 
up,  you  will  require  heavier  tackle,  and  will  therefore  select 
them  from  the  plate  of  "  implements  for  angling  in  lakes, 
bays,  rivers,"  etc.,  on  the  following  page. 

Select  a  rod  from  8  to  9  feet  long,  like  A,  B',  C,  in  the  en- 
graving. Let  it  taper  regularly  and  be  rather  heavy.  The 
butt  and  second  joint  should  be  made  of  ash,  and  the  top  of 
lancewood.  Bell-metal  top  and  guides  are  best  for  mount- 
ing a  trolling-rod,  while  agate  or  carnelian  are  best  for  the 
purpose  of  casting  a  long  distance,  as  the  friction  is  less  on 
jewels  than  on  metals.  The  guides  for  all  kinds  of  bass 
angling  should  be  large  enough  to  pass  a  knot  in  the  line 
through  them.  In  ringing  rods  for  salmon  and  trout,  the 
rings  should  be  diminished  in  size  from  butt  to  tip,  as  the 
rods  taper ;  but  such  is  not  the  case  with  bass  guides,  all  of 
which  should  be  equal  in  size  and  shape,  and  polished  for  the 
line  to  run  smoothly.  Large  guides  are  a  modern  invention. 
About  ten  years  ago  I  was  fishing  at  West  Island — that  par- 


A,  B,  C.  Butt,  middle  joint,  and  top  of  a  Brass  Rod.  D.  Baiting  Needle.  E.  Sinker 
for  trolling  with  sguid.  F.  GaflFfor  large  bass,  four  inches  across  the  bend.  G.  Oval 
Tracing  Sinker,  with  hole  through  centre.  H.  Swivel  Sinker.  I.  Pivot  multiplying 
Reel,  with  balance  crank.  J.  Brass  Swivel,  for  fishing  on  the  bottom  with  tracing 
sinker.  K.  Wedge,  to  fasten  trolling  sinker  E  for  the  different  lengths  of  squid.  L. 
Loop  above  sinker  E,  to  which  the  line  is  attached ;  length  optional.  M.  Heavj- 
Hook  for  trolling.  N.  Kin^sh  Hook ;  small,  strong,  well  tempered,  Sproat's  bend. 
O.  Scap-net  for  catching  shrimp,  or,  with  larger  meshes,  a  landing-net.  No.l.  Shank- 
bended  Hook,  with  line  fastened  by  three  half  hitches  to  angle  for,  or  cast  into  the 
surf  for  large  striped  bass.  2  and  3.  Smaller  sizes,  for  casting  menhaden  bait,  or 
still-baiting  with  heavy  tracing  sinker.  4.  Kinsey  bend,  or  Pennsylvania  Hook.  5. 
O'Shaughnessy  bend.    6.  Sproat's  bend.    7  and  8.  Kendal  Hooks. 


How  TO  Squid  a  Hook.  55 

adise  of  the  bass  angler — when  one  morning  I  was  awakened 
from  my  early  slumbers  by  the  loud  calls  of  Hosier,  my  gaff- 
er, who  had  tried  a  cast  with  one  of  my  rods  from  the  Table 
Rock,  and,  in  casting,  had  thrown  a  knot  in  the  line  about 
thirty  feet  from  the  reel ;  and,  as  the  guides  were  too  small 
to  pass  the  knot,  Mosier,  to  prevent  the  fish  from  getting 
slack  line,  ran  back  as  the  fish  came  toward  shore,  and  ran 
forward  when  the  fish  carried  off  too  much  line,  calling  lusti- 
ly for  me  as  he  ran  backward  and  forward  in  great  excite- 
ment. I  finally  relieved  him  of  the  rod  in  due  time,  and  he 
gaffed  the  bass,  which  weighed  twenty-two  pounds.  Since 
then  I  have  all  guides  made  large  enough  to  pass  a  small 
pea.  Double  guides  are  best,  unless  you  have  Pritchard's 
patent  guides,  which  turn  on  a  fixed  metallic  band.  It  is  al- 
ways best  to  disjoint  a  rod  when  done  fishing  for  the  day, 
and  then  change  the  sides  of  the  two  upper  joints  every  day, 
as  it  prevents  the  rod  from  warping  or  setting. 

The  reel,  like  I,  should  carry  600  feet  of  hawser-laid  linen 
line,  of  from  twelve  to  fifteen  threads,  thus  rendering  it  about 
the  size  of  a  fine  salmon  line ;  but  the  line  should  be  free  from 
any  oily  composition,  and  a  dip  in  dye  to  give  it  a  greenish 
shade  is  beneficial.  Never,  by  any  chance,  use  a  check  reel 
for  coast  or  estuary  fishing.  Depend  on  the  pressure  of  your 
thumb  for  checking  the  fish,  and  wear  knitted  thumb-stalls. 

Hooks  like  M,  with  taper  shank  and  loop  of  linen  line,  the 
same  size  as  that  on  the  reel,  extending  six  inches  beyond 
the  end  of  the  shank.  Place  your  squid  along  the  hook  so 
that  the  extreme  bend  of  the  hook  will  be  opposite  its  eyes, 
when  slide  up  sinker  on  loop  E  toward  L  until  the  sinker  is 
even  with  the  other  end  of  the  squid.  By  this  process  your 
tackle  will  fit  your  squid.  Then  fasten  E  to  its  place  by  K ; 
hook  the  squid  back  of  its  mouth,  running  the  point  forward, 
and  turning  it  down  so  as  to  bring  the  point  out  between  the 
eyes ;  attach  loop  L  to  the  baiting-needle ;  draw  the  sinker  up 
through  the  ink-sack,  or  body,  and  attach  the  loop  to  the  end 
of  the  reel-line,  and  you  will  be  ready  to  commence  trolling. 


56  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Those  who  employ  a  man  to  row  and  gaff  the  fish  would- 
do  well  to  direct  him  to  squid  half  a  dozen  hooks  before  start- 
ing, and  lay  them  aside  in  the  boat  under  some  wet  rock-weed 
before  leaving  shore.  If  you  have  ever  been  trolling — as  I 
have—when  large  bass  were  biting  generously,  you  will  real- 
ize the  force  of  this  advice.  It  is  unpleasant  to  be  trolling 
in  rough  waters,  and,  when  a  bass  strikes  the  back  of  youi- 
hook  and  takes  your  bait  without  fastening,  to  be  obliged  to 
stop  and  squid  a  hook  before  proceeding. 

Now  for  the  fray  !  Our  boats  are  made  by  Hughes,  fellow-, 
apprentice  of  George  Steers;  and  with  Sile  Wright  and  Sandy 
Gibson  as  guides  and  gaffers,  we  shall  be  sculled  over  all  the. 
favorite  trolling  grounds  from  the  ferry  below  to  the  Drowned 
Marsh  above  Ward's  Island.  '  Our  first  move  will  be  to\yard 
Tide  Rock,  swinging  Big  and  Little  Mill  Rocks  on  the  way ; 
then  we  shall  glide  over  the  Hen  and  Chickens,  swing  Holt's 
Rock  on  the  Hog's  Back,  round  Nigger  Point,  and,  stopping  at 
John  Hilliker's  to  rest,  enjoy  a  piece  of  incomparable  apple- 
pie  and  a  glass  of  milk  served  by  two  charming  ladies.  While 
indulging  these  ruminations  one  day,  as  my  friend  was  swing- 
ing* Holt's  Rock,  he  hooked  a  large  bass  and  played  it  all  the 
way  round  the  east  end  of  Ward's  Island  to  Chowder  Eddy, 
where,  on  landing,  it  weighed  twenty  pounds. 

The  sketch  on  the  opposite  page  represents  my  friend  as 
the  bass  first  rose  and  laid  its  course. 

I  was  not  so  fortunate  as  my  friend ;  for,  as  my  squid  was 
struck  by  a  large  bass,  Sile  said  he  heard  the  rod  crack ;  but 
the  fish  made  such  a  long,  vigorous  run,  that  I  scarcely  real- 
ized what  he  said,  and,  after  turning  the  fish  and  reeling  him 
in  gradually,  he  broke  water  with  a  leap,  clearing  the  surface, 
and  revealing  a  forty-pounder.  While  turning  and  bringing 
him  toward  the  boat  for  the  third  time,  he  darted  down  and 

*  Swinging  a  rock  is  done  by  the  oarsman  holding  the  boat  sixty  feet  from 
the  rock  and  swinging  it  so  that  the  troll  will  move  about  the  rock  on  all 
sides  and  play  as  if  alive.  This  art  is  possessed  in  great  perfection  by  Hell 
Gate  oarsmen. 


A  Word  on  Gaffing.  57 


Fish  and  Tide  Irresistible. 

snapped  the  middle  joint  of  my  rod  in  two,  when  I  threw  the 
broken  rod  down  at  my  feet  and  took  hold  of  the  line ;  the 
fish  made  but  feeble  resistance,  and  I  towed  him  alongside 
the  boat  and  shouted  to  Sile  for  the  gaff,  but  he  had  thought- 
lessly placed  it  in  the  other  boat.  I  then  endeavored  to  put 
my  hand  in  his  mouth,  and,  while  in  the  act,  the  fish  turned 
over,  breaking  the  hook  and  bleeding  profusely  as  he  settled 
off  into  the  tide,  leaving  us  astonished  and  almost  desperate. 
On  examination,  I  learned  that  a  flaw  in  the  hook  had  been 
the  cause  of  our  loss  of  the  tish ;  but  had  we  rowed  ashore 
and  towed  the  fish  after  the  rod  broke,  we  should  probably 
have  landed  him.  I  have  never  since  been  caught  trolling  or 
angling  for  large  bass  without  a  gaff  and  tried  hooks ;  and  as 
the  gaff  is  an  implement  of  such  high  importance,  I  have  given 
the  shape  and  description  in  another  part  of  this  book ;  but 
the  one  shaped  like  F  among  the  "  implements,"  and  from  3 
to  4^  inches  across  the  bend  from  point  to  shank,  made  with 
a  screw  to  fit  into  the  gaff  handle,  leaves  little  to  be  desired. 
In  using  it,  drop  it  below  the  fish,  point  upward,  and  as  it  is 
raised  to  the  fish,  the  fish  settles  against  it,  and  a  simple  jerk 
impales  it.     Do  not  strike  a  fish  with  the  gaff;  insert  the 


58  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

gaff  gently  beneath,  and  it  will  be  hooked  with  the  utmost 
ease. 

Well,  with  broken  rod  and  tangled  line,  I  ordered  Sile  to  row 
away  from  the  scene  of  our  misfortune.  I  found  my  friend 
at  Hammock  Rocks,  his  fish  laid  out  in  state  on  rock-grass, 
and  he  mutely  bending  over  it  with  a  face  radiant  with  pleas- 
urable satisfaction  at  his  achievement.  Trolling,  to  him,  was 
a  new-born  pleasure,  and  his  first  capture  a  trophy  of  which 
a  slayer  of  lions  might  be  justly  proud.  It  would  be  super- 
fluous to  add,  we  drank  to  the  study  for  a  Stearns  or  a 
Bracket  as  it  lay  shining  on  the  pallet  of  sea-grass.  Sandy 
commiserated  Sile's  misfortune  at  losing  the  large  bass.  In 
the  centre  of  a  radius  containing  the  most  picturesque  land- 
scape near  the  metropolis,  we  rested,  wondered,  and  admired. 

"  The  skies  their  fairest  canvas  spread 

When  the  angler  goes  a-trolling ; 
Relenting  clouds  float  overhead, 
And  tears  and  smiles  alternate  shed, 

When  the  angler  goes  a-trolling," — Stoddart. 

Having  toasted  the  health  and  appetite  of  bass  in  that 
neighborhood  in  a  glass  of  sherry,  and  replaced  the  broken 
joint  of  my  rod  with  a  sound  one,  we  again  seated  ourselves 
in  our  boats,  and  commenced  trolling  the  Little  Gate,  the 
Kills,  and  all  about  Randall's  and  Ward's  Islands,  and,  after 
the  usual  alternatives  of  hopes,  fears,  and  moments  of  ecstasy, 
we  finished  up  a  mess  of  seven  bass  between  us,  the  largest 
nearly  thirty,  and  the  smallest  four  pounds  in  weight. 

Well,  having  given  you  a  taste  of  the  sport  on  the  waters 
bounding  Manhattan  Island  on  the  north  and  east,  let  us  an- 
chor our  boat  near  the  lower  hedges  of  New  York  Bay,  and 
learn  how  different  bottom  fishing  with  a  tracing  sinker  is 
from  both  trolling  and  angling  with  a  float. 

SECTION    FOURTH. 

STILL-BAITING   FOR   BASS. 

Use  a  stiffish  rod,  like  A,  B,  C  on  the  page  of  implements. 
It  should  be  from  eight  to  nine  feet  in  length.     The  Japan 


liiG  FOE  Bottom  P'ishing.  59 


bamboo  pole,  being  a  rod  without  joints,  of  the  same  length, 
and  mounted  the  same,  with  top  and  guides  of  agate  or  car- 
nelian ;  multiplying  reel  like  I,  which  shall  carry  from  four  to 
six  hundred  feet  of  fine  linen  or  silk  line.  Linen  is  the  best 
for  bottom  fishing,  but  it  should  be  made  of  the  finest  and 
strongest  flax  or  hemp.  You  may  use  a  double-gut  leader, 
three  fourths  of  a  yard  long,  or  make  a  leader  from  your  line, 
which  I  prefer  when  bottom  fishing  for  bass  ranging  from 
three  pounds  upward ;  then  one  hook  only  is  used.  Use  a 
tracing  sinker  in  the  form  of  a  long  roll  or  cylinder  of  lead, 
three  fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter^  with  a  hole  for  the  line 
longitudinal,  cutting  off  the  weight  required  for  a  sinker ;  or 
let  it  be  an  oval  form,  as  represented  by  G,  with  a  swivel  to  ^ 
stop  it  at  the  top  end  of  the  leader,  like  J.  The  swivel  should 
be  brass;  all  swivels  for  use  in  salt  water  should  be  brass, 
for  steel  is  soon  corroded.  Thrust  your  line  through  the 
sinker,  and  attach  the  end  of  your  line  to  a  swivel,  and  your 
leader  to  the  other  end  of  the  swivel.  This  leader  may  be 
either  linen  or  double  gut  of  the  silk-worm.  If  the  latter, 
the  hook  will  require  tying  or  winding  on  with  waxed  thread ; 
if  the  former,  the  hook  should  be  headed  like  a  pin,  and  the 
line  fastened  to  it  by  three  half  hitches,  as  if  for  fishing  with 
menhaden  bait.  Shedder  or  soft-shell  crab  is  preferred  for 
bait ;  but,  if  it  can  not  be  procured,  use  shedder  lobster. 


60  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Now,  having  finished  our  rig,  we  will  cast  our  anchor  here, 
about  a  hundred  feet  above  the  hedge,  and  fish  toward  it  un- 
til the  tide  turns,  when  we  will  anchor  about  as  far  the  other 
side  of  the  hedge.  These  hedges  were  made  to  lead  shad 
into  channels,  across  which  nets  were  spread,  as  you  perceive 
by  the  spaces  left  in  the  difierent  rows  of  hedges.  I  always 
anchor  my  boat  so  as  to  cast  at  an  edge  of  an  opening,  or 
channel,  through  the  hedges.  Our  boat  is  not  so  near  as  to 
alarm  the  fish,  while  a  gentle  cast  of  seventy-five  feet  reaches 
them.  Make  your  cast,  and  let  your  sinker  settle  naturally, 
so  that  your  line  be  straight,  when  you  will  feel  the  slightest 
nibble,  though  bass  generally  grab  the  bait  and  dash  away, 
and,  if  they  feel  the  hook,  continue  going  until  they  become 
exhausted,  when  they  rise  to  the  surface,  which  is  called 
"  breaking  water."  In  this  act  they  inhale  a  little  open  air 
oxygen,  which  renders  them  so  gay  and  sportive  as  to  be 
almost  unmanageable.  You  should  therefore  always  wear 
thumbstalls  or  cots  on  the  thumb,  a  neglect  of  which  has 
caused  numerous  thumbs  to  be  blistered  by  the  friction  of 
the  line  when  endeavoring  to  snub  a  striped-sided  racer,  or 
a  bluefish,  which  intrudes  as  a  guerrilla,  and,  with  its  steel 
jaws,  chops  up  your  tackle  and  occupies  the  post  with  impu- 
nity ;  and  if  perchance  you  hook  a  bass,  he  is  sure  to  liberate 
it  in  the  endeavor  to  get  the  bait,  by  biting  the  line  off"  be- 
fore the  mouth  of  the  bass.  Gimp  snells  are  as  straw  to 
their  saw-set  teeth,  and  nothing  but  piano  wire  has  yet  been 
found  strong  enough  to  resist  their  bite. 

There,  sir !  When  you  jerk  at  a  bite  like  that,  reel  in  the 
slack  you  have  caused,  and  let  your  sinker  settle  so  as  to 
keep  your  line  straight.  Well  done !  That  fish  is  game.  T 
will  reel  up,  or  he  will  cross  my  line,  and,  by  becoming  en- 
tangled, you  may  lose  your  fish.  After  all,  he  is  not  so  large 
as  to  require  a  gafi".  It  is  best  to  have  both  a  gaff  and  large 
scap-net  in  the  boat  for  such  fishing. 

Our  sport  bids  fair  to-day.  We  have  already  taken  a 
dozen  bass,  besides  a  few  squeteague  and  blackfish,  and  the 


The  Luxury  of  a  Lunch.  61 

tide  is  not  yet  full ;  but  perhaps  we  had  better  use  the  last 
of  the  flood  tide  to  help  us  up  to  the  light-house  on  Ber- 
gen Point  Reef,  for  the  best  time  there  is  just  after  the  tide 
has  turned  ebb,  when  I  never  failed  of  an  hour's  brisk  sport. 
Let's,  therefore,  up  with  our  killick  and  man  the  sculls,  which, 
wdth  the  tide,  will  carry  us  there  in  twenty  minutes. 

Well,  brother  angler,  our  good  arms,  assisted  by  the  tide, 
have  enabled  us  to  arrive  in  time  for  me  to  cast  anchor  on 
this,  my  favorite  ground.  The  tide  is  just  high- water  slack. 
Our  landmarks  are  right.  Let  go  the  anchor.  Be  seated 
and  ready,  but  do  not  cast  until  the  boat  toles  by  a  decided 
ebb  of  the  tide.  In  the  mean  time  suppose  we  lunch  ?  Now, 
as  we  enjoy  these  broiled  squab,  buttered  biscuit,  and  a  mod- 
icum of  claret  to  moisten  them,  we  will  feast  our  eyes  upon 
the  captivating  scenery.  Comparatively  few  understand  the 
pleasures  of  boat  fishing.  It  is  removed  from  the  dust  and 
hurry-scurry  of  terra  firma.  Our  position  enables  us  to  sur- 
vey several  shores  and  the  employments  of  busy  life.  What 
can  be  more  lovely  on  a  mild  autumn  day  than  scenes  like 
these  from  a  boat  ?  We  are  near  enough  to  the  metropolis 
to  hear  its  noises  subdued  into  a  musical  monotone.  That 
mountain  which  you  perceive  at  the  head  of  Newark  Bay — 
of  which  we  are  at  the  foot — is  Snake  Hill,  at  the  confluence 
of  the  waters  of  the  Passaic  and  the  Hackensack,  which  emp- 
ty at  each  prong  of  the  fork  formed  by  the  head  of  this 
bay.  To  the  south  a  few  miles  you  perceive  a  large  city, 
which  is  Newark.  The  spires  of  a  town  still  farther  south 
are  over  Elizabethtown,  while  two  miles  south  from  us  is 
Elizabethport.  On  the  Staten  Island  shore,  at  the  east  of  us, 
are  New  Brighton,  Factoryville,  Port  Richmond,  and  a  series 
of  buildings  and  gardens,  as  a  part  of  the  periphery  of  Staten 
Island.  Directly  in  front  of  us  is  Bergen  Point,  being  a  gar- 
den charmingly  dotted  with  dwellings  of  picturesque  archi- 
tecture. Do  not  these  scenes  present  subjects  for  contempla- 
tion sufficiently  enchanting  to  pay  the  artist  for  a  visit  with- 
out any  sporting  accessory  ?    Many  innocent  persons  wonder 


62  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

how  a  man  can  "waste"  an  occasional  day  "at  the  stupid 
sport  of  angling."  These  persons  do  not  even  know  that  the 
modern  angler  is  as  widely  different  from  the  ancient  dream- 
er portrayed  by  good  old  Izaak  Walton  as  are  percussion 
caps  and  locomotives  from  flint-locks  and  post-coaches. 

The  tide  here  appears  to  take  longer  to  make  a  decided 
turn  than  at  any  place  known  by  me.  We  will  shed  a  few 
crabs,  as  the  boat  toles  nearly  right.  Notice  the  landmarks : 
the  dock  at  Bergen  Point  is  in  range  with  the  steeple  at  New 
Brighton ;  the  south  side  of  the  Light-house  ranges  with  the 
high  chimney  on  Staten  Island  shore.  These  ranges  form  the 
angle  where  our  boat  rests,  a  hundred  yards  west  of  the 
Light-house,  and  within  casting  distance  of  the  submerged 
rocks,  seven  to  the  left  and  five  to  the  right,  at  the  stern  of 
our  boat; 

Now  for  commencing.  Cast  a  trifle  to  the  left,  and  let 
your  sinker  fall  just  above  the  seven  rocks,  and  I  will  cast 
slightly  to  the  right  of  the  stern,  toward  the  five  rocks. 
There !  I  told  you  so  !  You  can  not  sink  your  bait  before 
you  have  a  bite.  Well,  this  is  sport !  Each  of  us  is  either 
playing  a  bass,  landing  him,  or  casting.  LTnder  thes6  condi- 
tions, it  will  depend  on  the  activity  in  baiting,  and  dexterity 
in  playing  and  landing  our  fishes,  for  deciding  which  will  take 
the  greatest  number.  It  is  true  that  they  are  not  large — from 
a  pound  to  two  pounds  generally,  with  a  three-pounder  some- 
times, and  a  semi-occasional  five-pounder ;  but  it  is  rare  sport, 
for  all  that.  The  tide  becomes  more  swift,  and  our  fish  are 
harder  to  play.  Deftly  and  gingerly  are  the  words,  while  not 
a  moment  is  to  be  lost.  I  have  angled  here  and  taken  bass 
throughout  the  ebb  tide ;  but  if  I  take  from  fifteen  to  twen- 
ty-five in  an  hour,  I  generally  become  fatigued,  and  rest  the 
pool  for  some  one  else. 

You  know  George  Wilkes,  of  the  Spirit  ?  Well,  he  and  I 
were  once  still-baiting  here,  and,  as  we  were  about  to  leave, 
after  taking  between  thirty  and  forty  bass,  our  line  on  which 
the  fish  were  strung,  and  fastened  to  the  thole-pin  for  keeping 


A   MOETIFYING   LoSS.  63 

the  fish  alive  in  the  water,  parted  as  we  were  in  the  act  of 
lifting  the  fish  into  the  boat,  and  we  lost  nearly  all  of  them. 
The  same  circumstance  hapjDened  here  while  angling  with 
George  Austin,  Esq.  Such  luck  is  aggravating  to  a  common 
man,  but  an  angler  soon  learns  that  eflects  follow  causes.  If 
you  prefer  to  keep  your  mess  alive,  either  tow  a  fish-car  at 
the  stern  of  your  row-boat  for  placing  them  in,  or  deposit 
them  in  a  net  fastened  to  a  thole-pin,  or  purchase  the  new  in- 
vention of  a  string  made  of  raw-hide  by  Andrew  Clerk  &  Co. 

It  is  time  for  us  to  reel  up  and  count  our  mess,  for  we  have 
tide  enough  left  to  float  us  to  New  Brighton,  where  we  hired 
the  boat  in  the  morning.  Your  count  says  twenty-seven 
fish.  Well,  that  is  an  average  take.  We  will  unjoint  our 
rods,  place  them  in  their  cases,  take  up  anchor,  and  you  may 
light  a  regalia,  while  we  enjoy  the  enlivening  scenes  along 
Kill  Van  Kull  on  our  row  to  the  landing.  This  is  the  be- 
witching time  for  driving  along  the  cornice  road  of  Staten 
Island ;  and  that  couple  which  you  now  see  in  a  buggy  oppo- 
site us  think  that  driving  a  fast  horse  on  a  dusty  road  is  fa- 
mous sport.  See  the  cavalcade  of  roadsters  stirring  up  the 
dust !  Coaches  with  liveried  drivers  and  footmen  are  not 
rare,  and  the  outriders  will  come  next.  But  we  are  at  New 
Brighton,  our  fish  are  basketed,  and  our  boat  returned.  We 
will  now  step  on  board  the  steam  ferry-boat  for  New  York, 
which  stops  here  every  fifteen  minutes. 

Our  sail  across  the  Bay  of  New  York  to  the  Battery,  you 
perceive,  is  a  continuation  of  the  enlivening  local  and  aquatic 
views  which  have  blessed  .our  eyes  throughout  the  day. 

We  must  part  now  with  a  shake  of  the  hand.  Your  steam- 
ship is  to  leave  at  noon  to-morrow,  and  the  engagements  of 
which  I  spoke  to  you  may  prevent  me  from  bidding  you  bon 
voyage  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel  which  is  to  convey  you  to 
home  and  happiness  in  one  of  the  British  Isles.  May  the 
blessings  which  usually  accompany  true  sportsmen  be  with 
you  ;  and  when  thinking  of  this  land  of  long  rivers  and  broad 
lands,!  trust  that  you  will  not  forget  the  slight  taste  of  sport 


64  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

which  you  have  experienced  in  the  immedi.ate  vicinity  of 
New  York,  but  that  it  will  prove  a  foretaste  of  a  whole  sea- 
son to  be  hereafter  enjoyed  in  angling  and  trolling  for  the 
game  fishes  of  our  coast  and  estuaries. 

SECTION  FIFTH. 

CASTING   BAIT   FOE    STRIPED   BASS. 

Casting  menhaden  bait  for  striped  bass  from  the  rocky 
shores  of  the  bays,  estuaries,  and  islands  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  constitutes  the  highest  branch  of  American  angling. 
It  is  indeed  questionable — when  considering  all  the  elements 
whicji  contribute  toward  the  sum  total  of  sport  in  angling — 
whether  this  method  of  striped  bass  fishing  is  not  superior 
to  fly-fishing  for  salmon,  and  if  so,  it  outranks  any  angling 
in  the  world.  The  method  is  eminently  American,  antd  char- 
acteristic of  the  modern  angler  by  its  energy  of  style,  and 
the  exercise  and  activity  necessary  to  success. 

Reels  for  this  kind  of  fishing  have  taxed  the  ingenuity  of . 
the  best  fishing-tackle  makeri  in  the  Union.  The  balance 
crank  should  be  designed  with  the  greatest  nicety  of  propor- 
tions, to  prevent  a  momentum  hard  to  check  with  the  thumb, 
and  still  the  crank  should  not  be  so  short  as  to  be  difiicult  in 
reeling.  The  crank  should  also  be  placed  so  far  back  and 
low  on  the  end  of  the  reel  as  not  to  endanger  the  fingers  of 
the  angler  by  a  sudden  strike  of  a  heavy  fish,  for  a  bass  does 
not,  like  the  salmon,  stop  to  study  the  cause  of  a  pain  in  the 
jaw,  but  straightway  makes  a  run  without  hesitation.  The 
best  materials  for  reels  are  supposed  to  be  German  silver, 
brass,  or  bell-metal.  The  wheels  should  run  on  jewels,  and 
be  so  covered  with  an  inner  case  as  to  protect  them  from 
salt  water.  The  reel  should  not  be  too  long ;  the  one  repre- 
sented on  the  plate  of  bassing  implements  indicates  the  shape. 
It  should  be  a  triple  multiplier,  without  check  or  drag,  and 
large  enough  to  carry  from  two  to  three  hundred  yards  of 
fine  linen  line. 

Lines  should  either  be  of  linen  or  hemp,  hawser-laid,  or  of 


Keady  for  toe  Gaff. 


braided  silk.  The  latter  is  the  easiest  to  cast,  but  not  so 
good  to  fasten  a  fish  by  a  strike,  because  of  its  elasticity, 
while  a  linen  one  will  .-respond  at  a  hundred  yards  to  the 
slightest  strike.  A  linen  line,  formed  of  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  strands,  and  strong  enough  to  sustain  a  dead  weight 

E 


6Q  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

of  thirty  pounds,  should  be  stained  to  the  color  of  the  water, 
when  it  forms  the  best  line  possible  for  this  kind  of  fishing, 
and  it  should  not  be  larger  than  a  salmon  line.  The  buoyancy 
of  the  water,  strength  of  tide,  and  dash  of  the  surf,  render  a 
very  strong  line  indispensable  for  large  bass.  Still,  as  the 
fish  is  as  gamy  as  a  salmon,  and  full  as  cunning,  the  line 
must  be  fine  and  the  rig  very  clean,  or  he  will  select  every 
piece  of  chum  thrown  to  him,  and  refuse  the  one  with  a  hook 
in  it ;  or  if  by  chance — when  feeding  on  chum — he  takes  a 
piece  with  a  hook  in  it,  he  rejects  it  instantly,  and  before  the 
angler  has  time  to  strike,  probably  distinguishing  the  differ- 
ence by  the  weight  of  the  hook.  The  most  successful  way 
to  angle  for  them  is  to  rig  so  clean  that  they  will  grab  the 
bait  like  hungry  dogs,  and  dash  away  for  more,  or  to  keep  it 
away  from  other  fishes. 

Rod. — Should  be  from  seven  tp  eight  feet  six  inches  in 
length.  The  two  lower  joints  of  ash,  and  the  upper  one  of 
lancewood,  mounted  as  indicated  by  A,  B,  C,  with  silver,  bell- 
metal,  or  brass.  Some  prefer  a  Japan  bamboo  pole,  because 
of  its  strength  and  lightness ;  several  gentlemen  of  thePasque 
Island,  Cuttyhunk,  and  West  Island  clubs  are  among  those, 
and  as  these  clubs  include  many  of  our  amateur  experts  at 
this  elegant  kind  of  fisliing,  their  opinions  claim  attention. 
My  own  opinion  is,  that  a  highly-finished,  well-balanced,  three- 
jointed  rod  is  the  best  for  use,  and  of  course  most  convenient 
for  carrying  on  fishing  excursions.  Some  anglers  have  joint- 
ed bassing-rods  made  exclusively  from  split  bamboo,  weigh- 
ing less  than  a  pound,  including  their  silver  and  jewel  mount- 
ings; the  objects  attained  being  lightness,  strength,  beauty, 
and  just  elasticity  enough  for  casting  and  playing  a  fish.  The 
sockets  and  shoulders  of  the  joints  of  all  rods  for  coast  and 
estuary  fishing  should  be  lined  and  covered  with  the  same 
metal  used  for  the  bands  and  guide-frames.  Double  guides, 
one  side  lined  with  jewels  and  the  other  made  of  bell-met- 
al, and  a  jeweled  top,  form  a  good  mounting,  the  shoulders 
being  covered  with  the  same  metal  as  the  bands.     It  is  nei- 


Pkepaeing  to  Captivate. 


et 


ther  artistic  nor  in  good  taste  to  cover  the  rod  several  inches 
with  bright  metal  for  attaching  the  reel.  Whether  double 
guides  or  patent  ones  are  preferred,  carnelian  or  agate  make 
good  lining  and  tip.  The  tip  should  be  formed  with  a  screw 
to  fit  several  top  joints.  German  silver,  brass,  bell-metal,  or 
any  other  metal,  hard  and  still  malleable  enough,  and  which 
will  not  oxydize  in  a  saline  atmosphere,  form  good  mount- 
ings. A  solid  butt,  without  elaborate  and  heavy  mountings 
to  hold  a  reel,  is  preferable.  If  the  line  does  not  run  on  jew- 
els, bell-metal  is  the  next  best  material,  except  it  be  the  alu- 
minum— a  light  metal  of  new  invention  in  combination  and 
manner  of  manufacture — which  is  lighter  than  any  other 
metal,  and  is  said  never  to  oxydize.  Our  fishing-tackle  man- 
ufacturers are  making  trout-reels  of  it,  and,  to  judge  from  ap- 
pearance and  recommendation,  I  should  decide  that  it  is  the 
be'st  metal  ever  employed  "for  reels  and  mountings  of  fishing- 
rods. 

As  no  sinker  is  used  for  assistance  in  casting  menhaden 
bait,  and  as  the  striped  bass  are  extremely  knowing,  the  ne- 
cessity for  a  clean  rig,  and  nothing  to  check  the  impetus  of 
the  bait,  make  up  desiderata  never  to  be  lightly  regarded  by 
the  bass  angler. 


Baits,  Chum-spoon,  and  Thumb-stall. 

No.  1.  The  menhaden — Alosa  menhaden — a  species  of  her- 
ring used  for  bait,  and  showing  the  mark,  back  of  which  a 
bait  is  taken  on  each  side. 

No.  2.  Bait  cut  from  No.  l,the  knife  being  drawn  through 
the  flesh  side  at  dotted  line,  but  not  so  deep  as  to  part  the 
skin,  but  to  facilitate  folding  like  3. 


68  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

No.  3.  Bait  folded  at  dotted  line  and  baited  on  shank-headed 
hook,  with  a  half  hitch  of  the  line  cast  round  the  end  of 
bait  to  prevent  it  from  slipping  down  and  filling  the  bend 
of  the  hook.  Some  anglers  cast  one  half  hitch  around  the 
bait  just  below  the  head  of  the  hook,  and  another  round 
the  top  of  the  bait ;  it  forms  a  more  compact  bait,  and 'bet- 
ter shape  to  cast ;  but  bluefishes  are  more  likely  to  cut  the 
line  off  than  when  the  bait  is  secured  by  one  half  hitch 
above  the  hook,  as  represented. 

No.  4.  A  thumb-stall,  knitted  from  heavy  double  and  twisted 
woolen  yarn,  to  be  worn  on  each  thumb,  to  prevent  the 
friction  of  the  line  in  checking  the  too  swift  revolving  of 
the  reel. 

No.  5.  Chum-spoon  for  throwing  minced  fish  with.  After 
taking  a  bait  from  each  side  of  the  menhaden  between  the 
first  dorsal  and  the  tail,  which  is  done  by  first  scaling  the 
part  from  which  the  bait  is  taken,  then  cho]?  fine  the  re- 
mainder of  the  fish,  head  and  all,  with  a  hatchet  or  bait- 
knife,  and  use  the  spoon  to  cast  it  out  on  the  pool  to  be 
fished.  The  spoon  is  about  a  foot  long.  This  choj)ped-up 
fish  is  called  "  chum,"  and  castmg  it  out  is  called  "  chum- 
ming," which  is  continued  until  the  debris  of  half  a  dozen 
menhaden  so  scattered  on  the  water  produces  an  oily  sur- 
face, or  "  slick,"  as  the  gaffers  call  it,  extending  sometimes 
half  a  mile  from  shore.  When  bass  smell  it  they  approach 
it,  and  follow  the  oily  surface  toward  the  point  where  the 
chum  was  thrown  in,  occasionally  finding  small  bits  of  men- 
haden, which  the  angler  on  the  rocks  may  see  them  break 
water  to  obtain.  Nearer  and  nearer  the  bass  approach  in 
the  path  of  chum  until  they  arrive  within  casting  distance. 
The  chum  should  be  chopped  very  fine ;  some  persons  cast 
in  the  head  of  a  menhaden  whole ;  this  is  bad  practice,  for 
it  not. only  invites  sharks  and  bluefish,  but  bass  feed  on  it 
when  they  might  otherwise  take  the  baited  hook. 


Recupeeating  Health.  C9 

SECTION  SIXTH. 

A    DAY    WITH   THE    DOCTOR. ANGLING    AT   THE    BASSING 

CLUBS. 

Well,  doctor,  having  arrived  at  West  Island,  which  is 
owned  by  an  association  of  gentlemen  who  have  formed 
themselves  into  a  club  for  the  incomparable  enjoyment  of 
angling  for  striped  bass,  they  will  of  course  assign  us  stands 
to  fish  from  to-morrow.  It  is  the  practice  here  for  all  mem- 
bers to  draw  at  night  for  the  choice  of  stands  to  fish  from 
the  next  day. 

Doctor.  A  gentleman  just  handed  me  a  card  containing  a 
"  number,"  and  "  outside  the  Hopper,"  marked  on  it. 

A'.  I  perceive  by  the  card  that  the  outside  of  the  Hop- 
per is  assigned  to  us.  Well,  of  course  that  is  owing  to  the 
composition  of  the  club ;  the  members  have  given  us  their 
best  stands.  That  is  a  feature  of  all  the  bassing  clubs ;  and 
besides,  William  C.  Barrett,  Esq.,  is  president  of  this  institu- 
tion, and  he  is  a  sportsman  possessed  of  the  most  discrimin- 
ative sense  of  true  hospitality.  On  the  morrow  we  will  try 
to  do  honor  to  their  estimate  of  us. 

D.  Gentlemen,  as  Mr.  S.  and  myself  are  somewhat  fa- 
tigued, and  would  prefer  to  retire  early,  will  you  have  the 
goodness  to  join  us  in  a  parting  glass  for  the  night  ? 

All  join;  and  we  retire  with  a  sense  of  good-will  toward 
all  mankind,  and  indulge  school-boy  hopes  of  the  morrow. 

"  While  others  are  brawling,  let  anglers  agree, 

And  in  concord  the  goblet  replenish  ; 

'TavIU  cost  not  a  care  so  long  as  we  share 

The  cups  of  content  and  of  concord." 

Our  dreams  were  rose-tinted;  but  the  pleasurable  antici- 
pations of  the  morrow's  exploits  caused  us  to  awake  early, 
and  I  sounded  the  doctor  before  daylight. 

8.  Hallo,  doctor !  Mosier,  who  is  to  be  our  gaffer,  rapped 
at  my  door  and  said  it  was  four  o'clock. 

D.  Well,  sir,  I  have  been  up  an  hour,  and  down  on  the  pi- 


V 


70  FlSHESTG   EST   AmEKICAN    WaTERS. 

azza  trying  to  joint  my  rod,  but  I  can  not  get  a  light,  and 
"  daylight  don't  appear." 

S.  Bravo  !     I'll  be  with  you  in  a  minute. 

D.  The  sea  fog  sets  in  chilly ;  what  say  you  to  a  cocktail 
and  a  cracker  ? 

S.  Oh !     Do  you  know  where  we  are  ? 

D.  Certainly ;  we  are  near  Plymouth  Rock,  the  blarney- 
stone  of  America. 

S.  Tush !  I  will  accompany  you,  and  we  will  take  a  sto- 
machic and  a  cracker;  but  do  not — for  appearance  sake — 
call  drinks  by  their  ordinary  names  in  this  "  land  of  steady 
habits,"  where  it  is  unlawful  to  taste  diffusible  stimulants. 

D.  For  medicine  ? 

S.  Of  course  not,  if  prescribed  by  a  physician  !  < 

D.  It  was  upon  that  hypothesis  I  ventured  the  invitation. 
I  brought  my  diploma  with  me,  and,  as  a  doctor,  I  prescribe 
the  potion. 

S.  Ahem  I  you  are  right ;  I  feel  that  your  prescription  is 
a  good  antarthritic.  And  now  we  will  hie  to  the  Hopper 
Rocks,  take  our  stands,  joint  our  rods,  and  be  ready  by  the 
time  Hosier  gets  the  fish  chummed  ia  Mosier  calls  up  the 
bass  here  just  as  a  farmer  brings  his  chickens  to  feed.  Let 
us  prepare ;  but  there  is  no  use  to  make  a  cast  before  sunrise. 

Mosier.  I've  throwed  in  the  chum  of  six  fish,  an  them 
scups  an  cachockset  comes  up  an  takes  it  just  for  all  the 
world  as  if  they  was  game !  an  I  hain't  seen  nothin  of  no 
bass  yet. 

S.  That  is  right,  doctor !  you  have  jointed  your  rod  per- 
fectly ;  every  joint  should  be  driven  home.  Now,  in  fasten- 
ing the  hook  to  your  line,  cast  two  half  hitches  with  the  end 
of  your  line  over  the  shank,  just  below  the  head;  then  turn 
up  the  end  of  the  line,  and  cast  a  half  hitch  over  it  and  the 
shank,  and  turn  the  hook  round  in  the  tie  thus  formed  to  see 
that  it  revolves  easily — cut  off  any  superfluous  end  of  line. 
See  how  Mosier  chops  up  the  chum,  and  where  he  throws  it ; 
and  just  where  he  throws  the  chum,  cast  your  baited  hook. 


Captain  Moseee  in  Command.  Y1 

Hosier,  bait  the  doctor's  hook.  I  see  luminous  rays  from 
the  God  of  Day,  and  he  will  make  a  splendid  appearance  in 
ten  minutes.  Now,  doctor,  reel  up  your  line,  so  that  the  bait 
will  be  within  a  yard  of  the  top  of  your  rod,  and  mak«  a  cast 
to  the  whirl  which  you  see  was  made  by  a  bass.  Your  reel 
overruns?  That  is  unfortunate.  You  should  keep  your 
thumb  on  the  reel,  and  check  it  as  the  bait  drops  on  the 
water.  Hosier,  bait  my  hook;  I  have  put  on  a  medium- 
sized  hook  with  a  headed  shank,  and  I  am  going  in  for  the 
fish  refused  by  the  doctor. 

Mosier.  Hr.  S.,jist  cast  along  there  in  Snecker's  Gap,  for 
they  are  reether  sassy  there  on  the  young  flood. 

S.  Well,  Hosier,  here  goes  for  a  forty-pounder ! 

Mosier.  There !  I  told  you  so ;  I  knew  that  feller  wanted 
breakfast,  an  I  guess  he's  got  enough  to  last  him. 

JD.  Hr.  Hosier,  as  I  have  succeeded  in  getting  my  line  out 
of  snarl,  shall  I  cast  now  ? 

3Iosier.  Not  quite  yet,  I  guess,  for  there's  no  knowin  where 
that  critter  will  yet  lead  Hr.  S. 

D,  Well,  I  will  take  a  seat  on  the  rock  here,  and  look  at 
the  play.  Ugh  !  that  wave  wet  me  all  over.  Is  it  not  dan- 
gerous to  remain  here  ? 

Mosier.  No,  sir ;  ony  keep  a  look-out  for  them  ninth  waves; 
don't  git  down  toward  a  gulch,  but  watch  where  the  waves 
throw  the  most  water  when  they  breaks  for  it  allers  depends 
on  the  course  of  wind. 

Z>.  I  see  your  philosophy  is  correct,  Hr.  Hosier,  and  I  have 
now  got  a  dry  seat.  Hr.  Hosier,  do  you  think  that  fish  will 
ever  be  landed  ?  He  has  run  nearly  all  the  line  off  the  reel 
already. 

Mosier.  I  can't  say;  there's 'no  counting  on  them  chaps 
till  they  are  landed,  if  so  be  you  fish  with  a  pole ;  but  if  I 
had  him  on  my  hand-line,  I'd  make  him  come  humming,  and 
show  no  quarters. 

S.  Hosier,  keep  my  line  away  from  the  rocks  with  your 
gaff,  for  he  seems  bent  on  rounding  the  Hoj^per  Rock,  and 


72  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

its  corners  may  cut  or  chafe  and  part  my  line.  There !  he 
ha;s  tacked  again ;  be  ready  to  gaff  him,  if  I  get  him  near 
enough,  before  he  makes  another  run. 

Mosier.  I  see  his  mate  a  keeping  alongside  of  him  all  the 
time ;  she's  'bout  as  big  as  the  hooked  one.  I  mean  to  gaff 
that  one  first.  How  like  tarnation  the  feller  fights,  an  tries 
to  whip  out  the  hook  with  his  tail ;  that  shows  he's  gitting 
tired.  When  they  curl  themselves  up  on  the  top  of  the  wa- 
ter so  that  you  can't  budge  'em,  you  had  better  be  careful 
not  to  hold  so  hard  as  to  let  'em  break  the  line  with  their  tail, 
nor  cut  it  off  with  their  back  fin ;  nor  so  loose  as  to  let  him 
git  slack  line  to  unhook,  or  knock*  the  hook  out  of  his  jaw 
with  his  tail.  There  !  see  him  straighten  out !  He  has  made 
his  last  fight,  and  got  whipped  !  His  mate  has  gone.  'Twas 
no  use  for  her  to  stay  an  try  to  help  him  any  longer,  for  she 
knows  he's  dead.  Now,  with  the  heave  and  haul  of  the  tide, 
there  is  more  danger  of  breaking  the  line  an  losing  him  than 
if  he  was  alive ;  but  here  he  comes,  an  here  goes  the  gaff — a 
forty-pounder  at  least  1 

S.  Well  done,  Mosier !  Struck  just  in  time,  for  the  hook 
has  let  go. 

Mosier,  Jist  so ;  I  hain't  no  confidence  in  them  hooks  with 
the  barb  curling  out  so  that  you  can  not  git  it  into  the  flesh. 
The  Kinsey  point  an*  Sproat  bend,  or  the  O'Shaughnessy  with 
the  Kinsey  point,  are  the  best. 

D.  Well,  rny  preconceived  notions  of  bass-fishing  have  all 
been  cast  wide.  When  you  first  hooked  the  bass,  I  thought 
I  could  take  a  seat  and  be  a  quiet  looker-on  at  the  play ;  but 
I  have  been  so  excited  by  alternate  hopes,  fears,  doubts,  and 
surprises,  that  I  want  you  t<>  pardon  me  for  getting  into  your 
way  several  times.  The  truth  is,  it  astonishes  me  to  see  the 
fish  on  terra  firnia.  I  thought  him  lost  a  dozen  times ;  and  I 
can  not  now  fully  realize  how  it  is  possible  to  play  success- 
fully so  large  a  fish,  and  one  so  game,  in  such  boisterous 
water,  with  such  slender  tackle.  I  am  really  afraid  to  try  to 
make  a  cast,  for  I  expect  if  I  get  a  strike  that  I  shall  either 
break  my  rod,  or  the  fish  will  part  my  line. 


.  The  Doctor  doeng  Bettek.  73 

••'aS'.  Hoot !  doctor,  don't  be  too  modest ;  a  man  who  has  shot 
wolves  in  the  Black  Forest,  and  killed  salmon  in  the  Dee  and 
Moisie,  is  not  easily  demoralized  by  a  striped  bass. 

Mosier.  Yes,  doctor,  you  jist  make  a  cast  out  into  the  Rifle 
Pit,  and  do  it  right  away,  for  I  see  by  their  whirls  that  they 
are  hungry. 

JS.  See  that  your  thumb-stalls  are  well  on,  and  that  your 
line  is  clear.  Now  reel  up  so  that  your  bait  is  within  two 
feet  of  the  tip  of  your  rod,  and  when  you  cast,  hold  your 
thumb  gently  on  the  reel-line,  and  as  the  bait  touches  the 
water,  press  your  thumb  on  the  line  to  check  the  reel  at  once, 
and  prevent  the  reel  from  overrunning. 

D,  Well,  here  goes  for  a  second  trial. 

S.  Very  fair  cast ;  far  enough  for  bass  at  this  stage  of  tide. 

D.  Ye — ye — es,  I  see  it  is,  but  then  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
save  him — I  know  I  can  not,  for  he  runs  and  pulls  so  like  a 
reindeer  that  I  can  not  check  liim.  There !  my  thumb-stall 
is  loose,  and  I  feel  that  my  reel  is  not  tight.  He's  gone !  1 
knew  1  couldn't  save  him. 

S.  Don't  be  so  excited,  doctor ;  keep  cool,  and  reel  in  your 
slack  line ;  he  is  only  studying  a  new  dodge  or  making  a  new 
tack. 

Mosier.  He  breaks  water ;  I  seen  him ;  he's  a  scrouger ! 

S.  There,  doctor,  you  perceive  he  has  hove  to  for  a  lunar, 
and  to  discover  how  to  tack ;  there !  he  is  now  laying  his 
course  for  Newport ;  reel  as  fast  as  you  can,  and,  if  necessary, 
run  back  to  prevent  him  from  getting  slack  line. 

D.  This  last  turn  and  the  dash  of  spray  nearly  capsized 
me.  Why,  he  plays  as  strong  as  he  .did  w^hen  he  was  first 
hooked, 

S.  How  long  do  you  suppose  you  have  played  him  ? 

D.  Nearly  an  hour,  and  he  seems  to  grow  stronger  and 
stronger. 

S,  It  is  not  yet  fifteen  minutes  since  you  hooked  him ;  bear 
up,  keep  cool,  and  keep  your  line  clear  on  the  reel,  and  be 
prepared  for  his  fight.     They  do  not  appear  to  be  in  a  mood 


74  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

for  sulking  this  morning ;  sometimes  they  settle  behind  rocks, 
and  butt  the  hook  against  them  to  spring  it  out. 

Mosier.  Don't  you  hold  him  a  leetle  too  taut  ? 

D.  I  don't  know ;  but  I  can  not  play  him  easier,  for  when 
I  give  him  an  inch,  he  takes  a  rod ! 

aS'.  He  will  soon  stop  for  his  final  fight.  See !  he  is  prepar- 
ing. Now  ease  the  line  a  trifle,  and  trust  to  the  chance  of 
his  being  well  hooked. 

2>.  He's  gone,  I  know  he  is !  Just  see  the  fellow  throw 
himself  like  Pat  McAroon  in  a  street-fight.  There,  he's  off! 
No,  he  is  not ;  what's  to  be  done  ? 

S.  Reel  up  gently;  he  is  dead ;  that  is,  he  has  fought  until 
he  has  fainted.  Gingerly,  doctor ;  reel  with  the  incoming- 
surf,  and  slacken  with  the  ebb — there  ! 

Mosier.  He  is  a  game  one,  and  will  weigh  over  twenty 
pounds.  They're  allays  hifalorum  in  them  Rifle  Pits  !  Gen- 
tlemen, the  breakfast  horns  has  been  bio  win  a  good  while. 

D,  I  am  wilted.  These  rocks  are  rough  to  run  about  on 
and  play  a  fish,  when  every  now  and  then  Neptune  drenches 
one  with  spray.  I  had  long  heard  that  striped  bass  were 
game,  but  all  that  I  ever  heard  or  read  did  not  prepare  me 
for  such  encounters  as  I  have  seen  and  realized  this  morning. 
I  am  not  now  surprised  that  Americans  consider  this  the  head 
of  game  fiphes.  The  accessories  of  fishing  for  it,  the  scenes 
where  it  is  taken,  together  with  the  modus  operandi  of  its 
capture  by  artistic  means,  render  the  sport  the  most  exciting 
that  I  know  of  under  the  head  of  angling.  I  shall  certainly 
prescribe  something  to  steady  my  nerves.  Ek  Men!  To 
breakfast  is  the  order ;  and  as  we  have  taken  two  grand  bass, 
ne  quid  nimis,  we  will  even  leave  off  fishing  whilfe  they  are 
feeding,  which,  for  the  vulgar  object  of  ourselves  feedmg,  is, 
with  a  real  angler,  an  unpardonable  offense  against  the  aes- 
thetics of  sport.  But,  though  belonging  to  the  refined  con- 
fraternity of  anglers,  our  excuse  is  that  we  are  rigged  with 
human  necessities. 

As  the  breakfast-table  is  the  morning's  trysting-place  for 


BeEAKFAST   and   DEi*AETUEE.  75 

the  members  of  the  chib,  where  they  recount  their  exploits 
over  their  tea  and  coffee,  with  broiled  bluefish,  striped  bass, 
and  scopogue,  or  with  broiled  chicken  and  beefsteak,  the  ten- 
der of  congratulations  to  my  friend  for  his  success,  and  the 
stories  of  successful  takes  by  some,  and  of  parting  tackle  with 
others,  acted  as  charming  opiates  to  witch  away  the  time ; 
and  when  we  rose  from  table  we  saw  our  yacht  hove-to,  and 
the  sails  flapping  an  invitation  for  us  to  step  on  board.  With 
great  reluctance  and  regret  we  parted  from  the  members  of 
the  West  Island  Club,  and  the  most  attractive  five-acre  island 
in  America. 

The  sail  to  Cuttyhunk  was  remarkably  interesting,  present- 
ing views  of  the  picturesque  landscape,  alternating  with  vil- 
las and  foliage  on  Massachusetts  shore,  and  the  group  of  Eliz- 
abeth Islands  and  Martha's  Vineyard,  with  No  Man's  Land 
peering  above  the  waves  far  out  in  the  ocean.  We  arrived  be- 
fore lunch-time,  and,  having  examined  the  trout  preserve,  the 
black  bass  and  white  perch  ponds,  and  taken  each  a  couple  of 
striped  bass  from  that  incomparable  stand, "  Bass  Rock,"  we 
adjourned  to  dinner,  where  we  were  regaled  with  choice  vi- 
ands, wines,  and  the  recital  of  angling  exploits  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  club,  who  are  justly  celebrated  as  amateur  experts 
with  rod  and  reel. 

After  dinner  we  shook  hands  as  an  au  revoir^  mats  pas 
adieu^  and  ran  over  to  Pugne  Island,  to  drojj  in  upon  John 
Anderson,  Esq.,  and  learn  from  him  what  charms  he  could 
see  in  his  little  island  home  of  a  hundred  acres  to  induce  a 
millionaire  of  his  industrious  proclivities  and  habits — with- 
out a  knowledge  or  taste  for  field-sports  oy  yachting — to 
shut  himself  out  thus  from  the  enjoyments  of  the  greatest 
and  most  social  city  in  the  Union — his  birth-place,  where  he 
ha&,  by  enterprise,  accumulated  a  fortune,  and  possesses  one 
of  the  finest  residences  in  the  metropolis.  He  informed  us 
that  the  charming  climate,  with  the  constant  feast  to  his  eyes 
in  scenery,  made  up  of  the  main  land  and  the  islands,  with 
the  ever-changing  aspect  of  the  sea,  filled  his  soul  with  rap- 


76  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

ture,  and  made  his  cup  of  happiness  full  to  overflowing. 
With  a  ptomise  to  visit  him  before  taking  final  leave  of 
Vineyard  Sound,  we  steered  for  Pasque  Island,  only  six  miles 
distant. 

Here  we  found  a  club-house  with  appointments  calculated 
to  render  not  only  the  members  of  the  club  and  their  families 
comfortable,  but  all  such  guests  as  members  of  the  associa- 
tion think  proper  to  extend  invitations  to.  The  island  in- 
cludes more  than  a  thousand  acres,  which  the  club  has  divid- 
ed into  two  farms,  erected  commodious  buildings,  including 
club-house,  ice-house,  stabling,  etc.  The  club  has  also  vege- 
table and  flower  gardens,  sail-boats  and  row-boats,  and  the 
river,  which  sets  back  a  mile  into  the  island,  is  stocked  with 
a  hundred  thousand  menhaden  as  bait  for  the  use  of  the  club. 
This  is  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  a  place  for  angling,  being  sep- 
arate by  a  strait  half  a  mile  wide  from  Norshon,  which  is 
nine  miles  in  length  by  two  miles  wide,  fifteen  miles  from  the 
main  land,  and  stocked  with  all  the  English  and*Scotch  game 
birds  and  most  of  their  game  animals,  including  also  several 
hundred  American  deer,  prairie-fowl,  etc.  It  also  contains  a 
large  pond  well  stocked  with  black  bass,  besides  several  perch 
ponds;  the  latter  is  not  regarded  as  a  very  valuable  acces- 
sory to  any  piece  of  real  estate,  for  perch  fishing  is  not  con- 
sidered sport  in  America.  I  mean  the  common  yellow  perch 
with  barred  sides ;  but  the  white  perch,  like  those  of  Cutty- 
hunk,  offer  good  sport  to  ladies  and  children,  and  are  a  very 
good  pan-fish,  ranging  in  size  from  three  ounces  to  three 
pounds. 

We  remained  at  Pasque  Island  several  days,  most  of  the 
time  angling  for  striped  bass,  but  occasionally,  on  a  dark 
day,  spending  it  in  a  cruise  after  swordfish,  which,  we  took 
with  the  harpoon.  Other  days  we  rowed  a  little  boat  out  a 
hundred  rods  from  shore,  when  we  put  down  killick  and  still- 
baited  for  squeteague.  Weighing  from  five  to  fifteen  pounds 
each.  Then,  again,  if  the  bluefish  came  in  such  shoals  as  to 
turn  our  strait  into  a  state  of  commotion  resembling  soap- 


Attractions  of  the  Elizabeth  Islands.  77 

% 

suds,  we  rigged  to  the  end  of  our  bass-line  about  two  feet  of 
piano  wire,  on  which  we  wound  ft  hook  with  'copper  wire. 
Then  we  anchored  on  the  edge  of  the  tide,  and  cast  out  a 
hook  baited  without  much  care,  and  the  moment  afterward 
we  were  saluted  by  a  jerk  and  a  Summersault  a  yard  clear 
of  the  surface,  and  a  short,  vigorous  fight  to  bring  the  blue- 
fish  to  gaff.  An  hour  of  energetic  sport,  and  twenty  bluefish 
of  from  eight  to  twelve  pounds  each,  generally  satisfied  us ; 
and  though  the  fish  challenged  us  by  menacing  leaps  to  con- 
tinue the  contest,  we  preferred  to  retire — however  ignomini- 
ous it  might  appear  to  them — and  recuperate  for  another 
time.  • 

It  was  hard  to  part  from  those  charming  scenes  and  the 
healthful  recreation.  The  doctor  decided  to  return  home  to 
England,  arrange  his  business,  come  back,  and  spend  his  life 
atPasque  Island.  But  how  to  leave  those  captivating  aquatic 
scenes,  ranging  from  simple  loveliness  to  grandeur,  and  some- 
times rising  to  sublimity  ?  What  scene  can  be  more  refresh- 
ing and  exalting  than  an  expansive  view  of  the  mighty  wayes, 
dotted  here  and  there  with  such  beautiful  islands  as  those  in 
the  Vineyard  Sound  ?  The  Elizabeth  Islands  offer  the  condi- 
ments of  existence  to  season  the  dry  hurry-scurry  and  com- 
monplaceism  of  the  business  world  on  the  main  lands .  of 
America ;  and  they  will,  before  many  years,  be  numbered 
with  the  watering-places  of  the  world  par  excellence.  While 
aquatic  birds  skim  the  waves,  and  the  gulls  are  screaming, 
dipping,  and  darting  over  a  shoal  of  bluefish  or  menhaden, 
vessels  outward  and  homeward  bound  are  always  passing,  for 
it  includes  in  its  range  of  view  the  packets  and  steamers  for 
England,  and  the  steam  and  sailnig  crafts  between  New  York 
and  Boston.  We  have  here  the  foreground  and  perspective 
worthy  the  pencil  of  Claude  de  Lorraine,  while  the  back- 
ground is  formed  of  the  granite  shores  of  Massachusetts,  with 
its  improvements  so  varied  and  important  as  to  give  surety 
of  an  intelligent  and  industrious  population.  Who  would  not 
delight  to  angle  here  ? 


78 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Eternal  ocean !  old  majestic  sea ! 
Ever  I  love  from  shore  to  shore  to  look  on  thee, 
Ahd  sometimes  on  thy  billowy  back  to  ride, 
And  Sometimes  o'er  thy  summer  breast  to  glide  ; 
But  let  me  live  on  land,  where  rivers  run  ; 
Where  shady  trees  may  screen  me  from  the  sun  ; 
Where  I  may  feel,  serene,  the  fragrant  air ; 
Where,  whatever  toil"  or  wearying  pains  I  bear, 
Those  eyes  which  look  away  all  human  ill 
May  shed  on  me  their  still,  sweet,  constant  light. 
And  the  hearts  I  love  may,  day  and  night, 
Be  found  beside  me,  safe  and  clustering  still." 


Tackle  for  Weakfish.  79 


Weakfish,  or  Squeteague. — Labrus  Squeteague. — Storer. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

WEAKFISH,  OR  SQUETEAGUE. 
This  fish  is  considered  the  second  in  interest  by  the  angler 
of  the  coast  and  estuaries  of  our  Eastern  and  Middle  States. 
It  never  visits  fresh  water,  and  either  spawns  along  the  sea- 
shores, or  on  deep  middle-grounds  of  estuaries  or  bayous,  the 
latter  being  small  bays  and  back-sets  of  tide  waters.  It  is 
probably  a  family  of  the  Clupea  genus^  one  of  the  marked 
characteristics  of  which  is  that  it  contains  roe  in  difierent 
stages  of  approximate  maturity,  though  this  fish  diffiers  by 
continuing  to  spawn  at  diflTerent  times  from  the  last  of  March 
until  the  first  of  November.  It  is,  therefore,  quite  probable 
that  the  squeteague  visits  our  shores  to  spawn,  and  that  it  re- 
mains during  the  spawning  season ;  and  if  it  be  true  that  the 
time  of  their  stay  is  regulated  by  the  duration  of  their  spawn- 
ing season,  then  we  may  reasonably  suppose  that  they  spawn 
along  the  term  of  time  between  March  and  November, 
though  the  best  time  to  angle  for  the  squeteague  is  from  the 
first  of  June  until  October.  From  the  middle  of  June  until 
September  the  tidal  parts  of  rivers  from  Chesapeake  Bay  to 
Vineyard  Sound  actually  teem  with  them.  I  have  taken 
with  light  bassing-tackle,  comprised  of  a  nine-foot  jointed 
rod,  a  reel  carrying  a  hundred  yards  of  fine  linen  line,  a  swivel 
sinker,  single-gut  leader, 'hooks  snelled  on  single  gut,  like 
those  represented  on  the  plate  for  taking  small  striped  bass, 
medium-sized  vOrk  float,  and  shrimp  bait,  on  many  occasions, 


80  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

M  pair  a  minute  for  some  time ;  but  the  fish  would  not  scale 
over  half  a  pound  each.  Shoals  of  them  rise  to  the  surface 
like  mackerel,  at  full  tide,  and  take  bait  as  fast  as  it  can  be 
cast  to  them  ;  but  after  they  sink  it  is  useless  to  angle  longer 
for  them.  Then  you  will  generally  hear  a  croaking  sound  in 
the  water  all  round  your  boat,  which  indicates  their  presence ; 
but  while  croaking  they  will  seldom  bite.  They  generally 
croak  for  half  a  minute  after  being  landed. 

At  full  tide  slack  I  once  rowed  out  from  the  Bath  Hotel, 
where  I  was  passing  the  summer,  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  Co- 
ney Island  Creek,  where  I  took  eighty-four  squeteague  within 
forty  minutes.  They  averaged  about  three  quarters  of  a 
pound.  This  was  in  July.  At  every  cast  I  hooked  a  pair, 
and  fished  as  expertly  as  possible  until  a  shoal  of  porpoises 
approached,  when  the  squeteague  settled,  or  sank,  and  quit 
biting. 

This  is  a  white-meated  fish,  the  meat  rather  mealy  when 
small ;  but  after  it  scales  ten  pounds  it  becomes  as  flaky  as 
a  salmon,  and  resembles  one  very  much,  except  in  its  being 
a  square-tail.  It  is  an  excellent  pan-fish  if  cooked  when  first 
caught,  being  free  from  the  flavor  of  any  foreign  substance ; 
but  it  soon  deteriorates,  and  its  juices  become  absorbed.  In 
point  of  delicacy  of  flavor,  many  epicures  prefer  it  to  either 
the  striped  bass  or  bluefish.  Its  eyes  being  oval,  it  is  sup- 
posed to  possess  the  strongest  sight  of  any  estuary  fish.  Al- 
though it  has  no  teeth  on  the  tongue  or  in  the  throat,  its  jaws 
are  armed  with  pretty  strong  and  sharp  ones,  which  are  set 
so  far  apart  as  to  prevent  it  from  biting  off  a  gut  snell.  Its 
mouth  is  very  bony,  and  the  meat  being  tender,  it  is  there- 
fore liable  to  unhook  easily  by  the  hook  tearing  a  large  ori- 
fice, or  not  taking  sufficient  depth  of  hold.  I  therefore  rec- 
ommend a  hook  of  fine  wire,  well  tempered,  and  of  large  bend. 
The  rushing  bite  of  a  squeteague  is  precisely  like  that  of  a 
brook  trout,  but  its  play  is  of  shorter  duration,  and  it  sooner 
yields  to  fatigue. 

The  shape  of  the  squeteague  is  represented-by  the  engrav- 


1 


Sportive  EsTUAKY  FigniNG.  81 

ing,  and  its  colors  are  gray,  masculated  on  the  back  and 
down  to  the  middle  of  the  sides  with  clouded  spots  of  dark- 
er shade,  and  all  terminating  in  a  gold-colored  belly,  pecto- 
ral, ventral,  and  anal  fins.  The  dorsals  and  tail  are  clouded 
like  the  back.  The  first  dorsal  is  composed  of  spiked  rays, 
and  the  second  soft. 

In  angling  for  large  squeteague  about  the  Elizabeth  Isl- 
ands and  in  the  Vineyard  Sound,  heavy  combination  tracing- 
sinkers  are  used,  and  the  shank-headed  bass-hook,  baited  with 
menhaden,  is  preferred.  There  they  are  taken  by  still-baiting 
from  a  boat  anchored  from  thirty  to  fifty  rods  from  shore,  in 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  water.  The  squeteague  is  one 
of  the  swiftest  fishes  of  the  square-tails,  and  its  ready  and 
dashing  bite,  and  short  fight,  render  angling  for  it  with  light 
bass-tackle  as  exciting  as  for  almost  any  other  fish  of  our  es- 
tuaries. For  the  very  small  fish  shrimp  is  the  be^t  bait ;  for 
the  yellow-fins  shedder  crab  is  the  best ;  but  for  those  of  the 
large  and  rounded  form  of  the  salmon,  the  menhaden  bait  is 
generally  preferred. 

It  is  almost  superfluous  to  state  that  angling  in  the  tide- 
ways with  success  requires  that  attention  be  paid  to  the 
stages  of  the  tide.  In  general,  squeteague  bite  best  on  the 
second  half  of  the  flood  tide,  but  there  are  places  where  they 
bite  best  on  the  ebb.  If  outside  the  mouth  of  a  river,  the 
first  of  the  flood  is  best,  while  well  up  the  estuary  they  begin 
biting  when  the  tide  is  half  up,  and  continue  until  half  ebb. 

Though  feeding-ground  for  squeteague  is  in  deeper  water 
than  is  chosen  by  striped  bass,  yet  they  generally  forage 
along  the  bank  of  the  channel.  I  have  frequently  anchored 
my  boat  so  that,  angling  with  the  tide,  I  was  sure  to  take 
nothing  but  striped  bass,  but  by  casting  to  the  right  or  left, 
outside  the  bank,  within  three  rods  of  the  boat,  I  would  take 
nothing  but  squeteague,  and  an  occasional  blackfish  or  tautog. 

In  a  commercial  point  of  view  the  squeteague  is  important. 
The  runs  of  shad  up  our  rivers  cease  about  the  first  week  in 
June,  when  the  squeteague  become  numerous  in  our  bays  and 

F 


82  FisHiNO  IN  American  Watees. 

the  estuaries  of  the  larger  rivers.  Great  quantities  are  then 
taken  in  seines,  pounds,  and  set-nets,  which  supply  the  marble 
stands  of  the  markets  lately  vacated  by  the  shad.  The  sque- 
teague  at  this  time  divides  interest  with  the  early  run  of  blue- 
fish,  and  about  the  middle  of  June  the  sheepshead  visit  us, 
when  the  variety  includes  also  tautog  and  black  bass,  with 
the  bonetta,  cero,  and  the  incomparable  Spanish  mackerel. 
These  do  not  include  any  of  the  fresh- water  fishes,  of  which 
the  black  bass  is  very  numerous  in  June. 

SECTION  SECOND. 

SOUTHERN   SEA   TROUT. 

From  Delaware  Bay  all  along  the  Southern  coast,  and  in 
the  estuaries  of  rivers  which  debouch  into  a  bay  or  arm  of 
the  Atlantic,  this  fish  is  taken  in  great  numbers  with  nets 
and  angling  tackle,  and  is  known  as  the  "  sea  trout."  Both 
its  habits  and  play  are  so  much  like  those  of  the  squeteague, 
or  weakfish,  that  anglers  along  the  coast  of  NTew  Jersey 
term  it  the  spotted  weakfish,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  oth- 
er, which  they  call  the  mottled  weakfish ;  but  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  coast  from  Delaware  to  Florida  know  it  only  as 
the  "  sea  trout,"  or  "  spotted  silversides." 


\ 


Southern  Sea  Trout. — "  Otolithus  regalis" 

The  body  of  the  sea  trout  is  more  round,  and  it  is  smaller 
from  the  tail  to  the  second  dorsal  and  anal  fins  than  the  weak- 
fish or  squeteague.  Its  meat  is  also  firmer,  and  the  flakes 
closer  and  more  compact,  while  its  silver-gray  back  and  sides 
are  of  a  bluish  tint,  which  shines  like  burnished  steel,  and  its 
belly  and  the  lower  fins  are  white,  without  a  yellow  tinge. 


Eesoets  of  Sea  Trout.  83 

It  is  also  sprinkled  aU  over,  including  its  dorsal  fins  and  tail, 
with  jet  black  dots  about  the  size  of  a  pea. 

Professor  Mitchill,  in  writing  of  the  squeteague,  states : 
"  A  beautiful  variety  of  this  fish  is  sometimes  seen  with  the 
following  characters,  to  wit :  Spotted  squeteague — [Lab.  Sq. 
maculatus].  There  are  black,  well-defined  spots  among  the 
specks  over  the  back  and  sides,  and  checkering  the  caudal 
and  second  dorsal  fins.  The  pectoral  fins  are  rather  small ; 
ventral  and  anal  fins  not  yellow,  but  brownish.  The  parts 
thus  variegated  with  spots  have  a  pretty  appearance."  With- 
out doubt,  the  professor  alluded  to  the  Southern  sea  trout ; 
and  as  it  shoals  with  the  squeteague,  and  only  visits  the 
shores  of  New  Jersey  occasionally  and  in  small  numbers,  he 
did  not  see  proper  to  distinguish  it  by  other  than  a  peculiarly 
f  marked  variety  of  the  squeteague ;  whereas  it  difiers  more 
palpably  from  the  squeteague  than  do  some  families  of  the 
mackerel  tribes,  eminently  the  Spanish  mackerel  and  the  cero, 
which  differ  only  in  the  color  of  their  spots,  the  first  being 
gold  color,  and  the  latter  black. 

The  sea  trout  is  superior  to  the  squeteague  as  a  table-fish ; 
its  scales  are  about  the  same  size,  but  fii-mer,  brighter,  and 
not  so  viscid.  As  a  game  fish,  it  is  fully  equal  to  the  sque- 
teague, as  free  a  biter,  and  as  readily  netted.  Both  fishes  are 
summer  spawners,  laying  from  175,000  to  700,000  eggs. 

The  sea  trout  appears  along  the  coast  and  estuaries  of  the 
Southern  States  nearly  all  the  year  round,  but  takes  the  hook 
most  freely  from  June  until  December.  It  is  taken  of  all 
sizes  between  a  pound  and  fifteen  pounds'  weight,  and  if  there 
is  a  difference  in  game  between  this  fish  and  the  squeteague, 
it  is  in  favor  of  the  sea  trout,  which  is  a  heavier  fish  of  its 
size,  and  rather  more  elaborately  rigged  with  fins.  It  should 
be  angled  for  in  the  same  manner  and  with  the  same  tackle 
used  for  taking  squeteague ;  and  shedder  crab  is  its  weak- 
ness. But  as  all  the  shores  and  estuaries  of  the  South  are 
alive  with  crabs,  as  well  as  other  Crustacea,  baits  are  easily 
obtained  for  striped  bass,  trout,  golden  mullet,  hogfish,  grunt- 


84:  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

ers,  sheepshead,  and  several  other  species  of  anglers'  fishes, 
all  of  which  are  much  more  numerous  than  they  are  in  the 
latitude  of  New  York.  Fishes  for  the  troll  are  also  very  nu- 
merous along  the  coost  of  the  Southern  States ;  such,  for  ex- 
ample, as  the  Spanisl\  mackerel, bonetta,  or  botiito,  pompineau, 
redfish,  cero,  and  bluefish ;  and  while  gunners  extend  their 
sporting  tours  as  far  south  as  the  Floridas,  and  west  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  anglers  seem  contented  with  trouting  in 
spring,  visiting  Canada  for  salmon  in  summer,  and  casting 
the  hook  baited  with  menhaden  for  bass  in  the  surf  along  the 
rocky  shores  of  the  Atlantic  in  the  autumn.  But  it  would  be 
well  worth  while  to  make  an  angling  tour  southward  in  au- 
tumn; and  such  as  may  desire  to  extend  the  sporting  season 
would  do  well  to  take  a  trip  to  Washington,  and  angle  for 
striped  bass  below  the  falls  of  the  Potomac ;  thence  to  Nor- 
folk, for  meeting  the  Spanish  mackerel,  striped  bass,  sea  troutf 
and  hogfish — a  great  delicacy — and  other  fishes  of  the  coast. 
If  the  sportsman  be  a  relative  of  Nimrod,  he  may  close  the 
season's  sport  along  the  coast  of  North  Carolina  by  shooting 
wild  geese,  and  the  numerous  varieties  of  duck  which  congr^ 
gate  there  in  myriads. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

SHEEPSHEAD. 

At  mouth  of  river,  or  where  deep 
O'er  mussel-beds  the  bay  tides  sweep, 
The  bulky  sheepshead  loves  to  hie 
When  summer  suns  ride  hot  and  dry  ; 
And  there,  for  hours,  in  anchor'd  boat, 
Hopeful,  the  patient  anglers  float, 
Only  too  happy  if  a  score 
Of  dainty  fish  enrich  their  store. 

The  sheepshead  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  on  the  list 
of  anglers'  fishes.  It  is  a  dinner-fish,  and  by  many  termed 
the  American  turbot,  because  it  frequently  figures  at  alder- 
manic  dinners.  It  is  really  a  delicious  fish  when  either  boiled, 
or  stuffed  and  baked.  It  usually  makes  its  appearance  in  our 
bays  and  estuaries  about  the  first  of  June,  and  remains  until 


Que  Aldermanic  Fish.  85 

the  middle  of  September;  but  it  does  not  visit  streams  above 
the  estuary,  and  is  found  in  greatest  numbers  along  the  mus- 
sel shoals  or  beds,  and  around  old  wrecks  in  the  bays.  When 
it  first  makes  its  appearance  in  our  waters  it  is  thin  and 
lean,  but  it  soon  increases  in  plumpness  and  succulence,  so 
that  from  an  average  weight  of  four  pounds  early  in  June, 
it  increases  to  nine  pounds  by  the  middle  of  August.  Its 
maximum  weight  is  twenty  pounds,  but  the  runs  along  the 
coasts  of  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey,  where  they  are  confess- 
edly in  best  condition  and  flavor,  seldom  range  higher  than 
from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds.  Its  mouth  is  paved  throughout 
the  roof  and  lower  jaw  with  square  teeth  of  flat  surface,  like 
eight4nch  square  mosaic,  but  rather  larger  at  the  outer  edge 
of  the  jaw,  where  its  even  teeth  resemble  those  of  a  sheep, 
from  which  it  is  supposed  its  name  is  derived.  But  the  teeth 
are  not  sharp,  and  there  is  space  between  them  for  a  fish-line 
to  play,  so  that  it  seldom  parts  a  line,  or  even  a  single  gut 
snell,  while  mussels  and  clams  are  instantly  crushed  to  pow- 
der by  its  powerful  jaws. 


Sheepshead. — Spams  ovis. — DeKay. 

Its  scales  are  large,  and  surpass  in  brilliancy  the  highest 
metallic  polish ;  they  are  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  hard, 
and  radiate  from  concentric  lines,  lapping  so  as  to  form  a  de- 
fense on  the  back  and  sides   against  a  blunt-pointed  gafl". 


86 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


The  crescent-shaped  bands  on  each  side  are  sometimes  quite 
black  on  the  back,  and  lighten  gradually  to  a  dark  gray  tint 
near  the  belly.  The  color  of  the  fish  is  neutral-tinted  on  the 
back,  which  lightens  gradually  to  the  lateral  line,  below  which 
it  is  like  white  ehene  silk.  The  spiked  dorsal  fin  is  followed 
by  a  second  of  soft  rays.  The  upper  ray  of  the  pectoral  fin 
is  spiked.  Its  eyes  are  large,  and  almost  beam)  with  intelli- 
gence. The  cheeks  are  often  tinged  with  a  pinky  glow ;  and 
when  first  raised  from  the  water,  and  lying  exhausted  and  mo- 
tionless in  the  landing-net,  it  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
happy-looking  objects  ever  raised  above  the  sparkling  wave. 


Hooks  and  Sinkers  foe  Sheepshead. 


Examine  youe  Tackle.  87 

As  the  play  of  the  sheepshead  yields  a  new  sensation  to 
the  amateur  who  for  the  first  time  indulges  the  penchant  of 
angling  for  this  dinner  luxury,  and  as  the  modus  operandi  oi 
its  capture  is  somewhat  peculiar,  the  opposite  sketch  is  giv- 
en to  indicate  the  forms  and  sizes  of  the  hooks  and  sinkers 
used  by  anglers  with  rod  and  reel,  and  by  members  of  the 
hand-line  committee. 

No.  1.  Hook  of  the  Sproat  bend,  small  but  strong,  of  finest 
tempered  steel,  and  the  short  point  and  barb  sharpened  like 
a  fine  knife-blade,  not  round  and  needle-pointed  like  those 
for  striped  bass  and  squeteague.  There  is  a  fine  gimp-wire 
loop  wound  to  the  shank  with  fine  waxed  sewing  silk  or 
fine  linen  thread.  I  recommend  waxed  linen  thread  when 
snells  are  wound  to  hooks  for  any  of  the  respectable  sized 
game  fishes  of  our  estuaries ;  for  fresh  water,  silk  is  pref- 
erable. 
Ko.  2.  Shank-headed  hook,  with  the  line  fastened  below  the 
head  by  two  or  three  half  hitches,  the  same  as  for  use  in 
fishing  for  large  striped  bass.  In  fastening  the  line  to  the 
hook,  cast  the  two  half  hitches  around  below  the  head,  then 
turn  up  the  end  of  the  line  and  cast  another  half  hitch  over 
the  shank  and  the  end  of  line,  filling  the  space  to  the  head. 
Then  drawthe  hitch  tight,  cut  ofi"  the  end  of  line  even  with 
the  head  of  hook,  and  turn  the  hook  in  the  tie  until  it  turns 
easily,  and  you  have  the  best  possible  hook-rigging.  The 
hook  should  be  made  of  finest  tempered  steel,  and  the  point 
very  sharp,  or  it  will  be  either  turned  or  broken  in  the  mo- 
saic pavement  of  the  mouth  before  it  slides  to  the  rim  of 
the  jaw,  and  by  the  turn  of  the  fish  fastens  the  hook  in  the 
lip  or  corner  of  the  mouth. 
No.  3.  This  is  the  size  of  hook  for  hand-line  fishing,  at  which 
a  large  business  is  done  during  July  and  August,  and  some- 
times throughout  September.  There  is  a  greater  number 
caught  by  the  hand-line  than  by  sweep-nets  or  seines,  the 
only  other  methods  of  taking  them  for  market.  The  Vir- 
ginia bend,  like  3,  with  knife-blade  edges  of  barb  and  point. 


88  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

is  preferred ;  and  the  fine  but  strong  linen  leader,  or  twist- 
ed or  braided  hair  leader  a  yard  long,  is  armed  with  a  hook 
at  each  end,  one  to  be  baited  with  a  whole  soft-shell  clam 
by  inserting  the  hook  between  the  shells,  and  the  other 
with  the  clam  taken  out  of  the  shell 
No.  4.  Tracing  sinker  of  lead,  with  a  hole  through  the  centre 
longitudinally.  All  sinkers  should  be  of  lead,  as  one  of  the 
most  ponderous  metals.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  leader — 
which  is  the  same  material  as  the  line — three  fourths  of  a 
yard  above  hook  No.  1 ,  the  leader  should  be  tied  to  a  brass 
swivel,  and,  after  running  the  end  of  the  line  through  the 
sinker,  the  end  of  the  line  should  be  tied  to  the  upper  end  of 
the  swivel,  to  prevent  the  sinker  from  falling  too  near  the 
hook,  and  still  to  permit  the  line  to  play  freely  through  it 
when  it  rests  on  a  mussel-bed  at  the  bottom,  so  that  the 
angler  may  feel  the  slightest  nibble.  This  is  also  a  mark- 
ed point  in  still-baiting  on  the  bottom  for  striped  bass  and 
squeteague. 
No.  5.  Sinker  for  hand-line  fishing.  Tie  the  end  of  line  to  the 
sinker  though  the  hole  in  the  end.  About  ten  or  twelve 
inches  above  the  sinker,  tie  to  the  main  line  a  leader  with 
a  hook  like  No.  3  at  each  end.  The  leader  should  be  near- 
ly a  yard  long,  and  if  made  of  hair  it  will  be  lighter  and 
play  easier  than  if  of  linen ;  and  when  the  sinker  lies  on 
the  bed  of  mussels  where  sheepshead  feed,  it  is  well  to  have 
the  leader  so  light  that  the  hooks  will  be  moved  about  by 
the  tide.  One  hook  should  be  about  a  foot  from  the  main 
line,  and  the  other  two  feet.  When  thus  rigged,  and  you 
have  cast  as  far  as  you  can  astern  of  your  anchored  boat, 
take  up  all  your  slack  line  and  your  heavy  sinker,  which 
will  permit  you  to  draw  the  line  straight  without  moving 
it,  and  this  will  enable  even  a  member  of  the  hand-line- 
committee  to  feel  the  slightest  bite. 

I  am  thus  particular  in  describing  the  rig  for  hand-line  fish- 
ing because  many  good  anglers  consider  the  electrit?  dips  and 
dives  of  a  "  head"  too  quick  for  a  line  to  render  before  break- 


Starting  foe  a  Day's  Fishing.  89 

ing  a  rocL  I  do  not  appreciate  a  repugnance  to  a  rod  because 
a  fish  plays  rapidly  and  with  powerful  demonstration.  The 
angler  should  use  a  heavy  rod,  about  nine  feet  in  length,  and, 
like  the  ordinary  bass  rod,  the  two  lower  joints  should  be  of 
ash,  and  the  top  of  lancewood,  or  the  whole  rod  should  be  of 
Japan  bamboo.  I  rather  favor  a  bamboo  rod  for  sheepshead 
fishing.  The  angler  should  use  the  heaviest  make  of  a  steel 
pivot  bass  reel,  large  enough  to  carry  six  hundred  feet  of 
line,  though  there  will  probably  never  be  naore  than  half  that 
length  carried  off  the  reel ;  but  the  fish  doubles  and  turns  so 
rapidly  that  a  large  drum,  or  much  line  on  a  reel,  is  necessary 
to  wind  the  line  in  quickly  and  prevent  the  fish  from  getting 
slack  line,  and  to  give  him  time  to  disgorge  or  break  the 
hook. 

To  the  angler  who  has  never  fished  for  sheepshead  I  would 
say, "  You  have  a  rare  treat  in  store,  so  enjoy  it  the  first  op- 
portunity." If  a  resident  of  New  York,  you  will  find  Canar- 
sie,  or  the  "  Old  Mill,"  near  East  New  York,  the  most  conve- 
nient places  to  take  sail-boat  from,  and  bait  is  generally  plen- 
ty at  either  place.  Sail  down  the  channel  above  the  inlet 
toward  Near  Rockaway ;  about  a  mile  below  Remsen's  Hotel, 
feel  by  sounding  for  a  mussel-bed :  they  are  numerous  for  a 
mile  along  shore,  about  200  yards  from  it.  When  found,  cast 
anchor  far  enough  away,  so  that  when  the  boat  toles  round 
by  the  tide  toward  the  feeding-ground,  the  cast  required  for 
dropping  your  sinker  on  it  will  be  about  fifty  feet.  The  wa- 
ter should  be  about  seven  feet  deep  at  low  tide,  and  it  rises 
there  from  four  to  six  feet.  The  best  tide  to  fish  is  during 
high  and  low  tides,  when  the  water  is  slack,  and  until  it  runs 
at  the  rate  of  five  miles  the  hour,  or  one  hour  after  it  begins 
to  run ;  for  when  the  tide  mns  at  its  full  strength,  sheeps- 
head seek  some  still-water  ground,  and  wait  for  a  moderate 
motion  of  the  waters.  During  the  intermission  I  am  in  the 
habit  of  taking  up  anchor  and  trolling  for  bluefish,  or  of 
seeking  some  feeding-ground  up  a  bayou,  or  some  sunken 
vessel,  where  I  angle  for  sea  bass,  squeteague,  striped  bass. 


00  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Watees. 

blackiish,  and  an  occasional  sheepshead,  until  the  tide  again 
serves  on  the  mussel-beds,  which  generally  border  the  main 
channel. 

At  the  right  times  of  tide,  the  locations  of  the  mussel-beds 
are  plainly  indicated  by  a  fleet  of  from  twenty  to  fifty  small 
sail-boats  of  hand-line  fishermen.  Many  of  them  are  farmers 
who  reside  near  the  shore  of  Jamaica  Bay,  and  employ  the 
interregnum  between  hay  and  grass  to  unite  pleasure  and 
profit  by  earning  from  three  to  ten  dollars  a  day  at  fishing 
for  sheepshead.  There  is  always  ready  sale  for  the  fish  at  a 
price  nearly  equal  to  that  obtained  for  salmon. 

Having  grouped  the  implements — except  the  necessary  one 
of  a  large  landing-net,  of  heavy  brass  rim  and  large  meshes 
of  strong  twine — suppose  we  drive  down  seven  miles  to  Ca- 
narsie,  and  go  out  from  there  to  try  the  "  head"  for  one  turn 
of  tide? 

Crossing  the  ferry  from  New  York,  our  drive  from  Brook- 
lyn lies  through  a  labyrinth  of  flower  and  vegetable  gardens, 
forming  a  landscape  dotted  here  and  there  with  chateaux 
whose  surroundings  prove  the  menage  to  have  been  designed 
with  a  view  to  uniting  comfort  with  elegance.  Those  old 
oaks,  cherry-trees,  and  black  walnuts,  together  with  the  ser- 
pentine windings  of  a  couple  of  trout  brooks,  are  the  only 
marks  left  of  that  antiquity  which  antedates  our  Revolution- 
ary War  for  Independence;  but  the  gardens,  lawns,  fruit- 
trees,  and  margins  of  flowers,  foi'ming  the  landscape  into  a 
picture  of  beauty,  and  loading  the  air  with  perfume,  demand 
that  the  senses  of  smell  and  sight  shall  do  their  duty. 
%  %  ^  ^  %  ^  % 

Yes,  judge,vWe  are  already  at  Canarsie,  and  I  do  not  won- 
der at  your  surprise  that  in  le^s  than  one  hour  we  should 
have  left  urban  blocks  of  brick  and  marble,  and  been  wafted, 
as  it  were,  through  seven  miles  of  flowers,  to  be  set  down  on 
the  margin  of  the  sea,  with  all  its  aquatic  views  breaking 
upon  us  like  a  startling  pun  or  paradox.  Be  pleased  to  step 
upon  the  piazza  of  the  hotel  and  take  a  look  seaward,  while 


Quaint  Salts  at  Canaesie.  91 

our  host  orders  Captain  Abrams  to  bring  his  yacht  along  the 
dock.  It  was  amusing,  when  I  first  inaugurated  rod-fishing 
for  sheepshead,  to  perceive  the  members  of  the  hand-line-com- 
mittee cast  furtive  glances  at  me  as  they  winked  knowingly 
to  one  another,  as  much  as  to  say, "  All's  fish  as  comes  to  our 
net,  and  a  greenhorn  is  as  good  as  any,  if  he  pays."  The  clam- 
rakers  and  crab-catchers,  whose  small  sail  and  row  boats  dot 
the  shores  and  shoals  of  Jamaica  Bay  as  they  saunter  about 
barefooted  and  clad  in  a  red  shirt  and  rolled-up  trowsers,  also 
believed  that  anglers  for  sheepshead  with  rod  and  reel  were 
monomaniacs ;  and  though  they  freely  took  my  money  for 
bait,  they  frankly  advised  me  to  use  a  hand-line  for  "  head." 
This  want  of  faith,  however,  lasted  no  longer  than  did  the 
gibes  and  sneers  of  the  shad-fishermen  at  Holyoke  when  Seth 
Green  stated  that  he  could  hatch  a  million  of  shad  a  day,  and 
within  a  week  he  hatched  six  times  that  number  daily.  So 
the  members  of  the  hand-line-committee  and  bait-catchers 
soon  became  not  only  civil,  but  vied  with  each  other  in  sec- 
onding my  wishes  by  taking  pains  to 'procure  me  peculiar 
baits,  etc.,  concluding  finally  that  angling  with  a  rod  and  reel 
may  be  as  respectable  as  fishing  with  a  hand-line. 

SECTION  FOURTH. 

ANGLING   FOE   SHEEPSHEAD. 

The  saline  air  is  invigorating,  and  a  slight  haze  protects  us 
from  an  unwelcome  glare  of  the  sun.  The  gulls  scream  as 
they  dip  and  sweep  over  shoals  of  young  herring  and  men- 
haden. Members  of  the  hand-line-committee  are  out  in  full 
force,  and  sixty  clinker-built  and  copper-fastened  tiny  sail- 
boats, with  poles  lowered  and  sails  wrapped  round  them,  are 
anchored  along  the  banks  of  mussel-beds,  intent  on  baiting 
with  clams,  and  casting  their  heavy  sinkers — -catchung  !  ca- 
lung !  Our  captain  rounds  our  craft  to  as  if  he  intended  to 
swamp  half  a  dozen  tiny  craft ;  but  all  is  serene  and  the  an- 
chor cast,  when  the  captain  falls  to  opening  shedder  crab  and 
soft-shell  clams,  and  throwing  the  shells  overboard  at  the  bow 


9^  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

of  the  boat,  so  that  the  tide  will  carry  them  astern  and  at- 
tract the  fish. 

With  the  sail  lowered  over  the  centre  of  the  stem  and 
lashed,  the  judge  takes  his  stand  on  one  side  of  it  and  my- 
self on  the  other,  when  each  with  a  single-rigged  hook,  as  be- 
fore stated,  and  well  baited  with  shedder  crab,  make  our  first 
cast. 

"  Judge,  permit  me  to  advise  that  when  your  sinker  touch- 
es the  water  you  do  not  slack  your  line  or  permit  any  to  run 
from  the  reel,  but  let  it  sink  naturally,  and  the  tide  will  keej) 
your  line  straight,  so  that  you  will  be  able  to  distinguish  the 
faintest  nibble  after  it  settles  on  the  bottom.  If  you  do  not 
get  a  bite  in  a  minute,  jerk — as  if  you  intend  to  hook  a  fish — 
and  reel  in  a  yard  or  two  of  the  slack  caused  by  the  jerk,  and 
then  let  the  sinker  settle  as  at  first.  Keep  striking  and  reel- 
ing a  few  feet  every  minute  until  you  have  efiectually  fished 
over  all  the  ground  from  where  you  cast  to  the  boat.  Then 
reel  all  the  way  up  and  repair  damage  to  bait,  and  cast  again. 
I  have  cast  and  reeled  in  for  hours,  sometimes  without  get- 
ting a  single  bite  from  a  '  head,'  and  in  such  cases  my  friends 
resorted  to  segars  and  other  expedients  to  prevent  them  from 
becoming  discouraged ;  and  if  they  saw  the  hand-line  men 
catch  a  few  and  string  them  to  a  cord  fastened  to  the  thole- 
pins, leaving  the  fish  in  the  water  to  keep  them  alive,  they 
would  forthwith  order  our  captain  to  bargain  for  a  few  at  a 
dollar  each.  But,  before  we  or  they  discontinued  fishing,  we 
would  take  the  greatest  number  of  any  craft  in  the  bay,  and 
frequently  more  than  we  knew  how  to  dispose  of  But  the 
tide  slackens,  and '  head'  will  begin  to  bite  very  soon.  Keep 
your  line  clear  on  the  reel,  and  straight  from  the  tip  of  your 
rod  to  the  sinker."  "  There  !  I've  hooked  one  !"  "  His  shoot- 
ing up  to  the  top  of  the  water  is  no  sign  of  weakness,  for  you 
perceive  that  I  can  not  prevent  him  from  diving  to  the  bot- 
tom quicker  than  he  came  up.  Captain,  man  the  landing- 
net,  and  be  ready  and  careful,  for  he  is  a  fifteen-pounder ! 
There,  he  is  off  again ;  you  perceive  that  I  can  turn  him  and 


Contest  with  a  Sheepshead.  93 

bring  him  to  the  surface,  but  as  soon  as  he  smells  the  upper 
air  he  turns  quicker  than  thought,  and,  unless  I  yield  him  line, 
he  will  either  part  it  or  break  my  rod.  The  sheepshead  is 
what  Lord  Dundreary  said  of  a  certain  bird, '  werry  wobust.' 
You  are  right,  judge,  he  is  beautiful ;  but  do  not  count  him 
until  he  is  in  the  landing-net.  There !  stand  out  of  the  way 
of  his  dorsal  and  pectoral  spikes ;  I  always  wear  boots  ;i5vhen 
angling  for  sheepshead  or  trolling  for  bluefish." 

"  Ho  !  judge,  you  have  hooked  a  good  one.  Good !  Play 
him  gently  and  gingerly." 

"  He'll  not  let  me  !  I  expect  to  lose  him.  There,  that's  the 
third  time  I  have  brought  him  to  the  surface,  only  to  see  him 
take  more  line  and  get  farther  from  the  boat  at  every  turn. 
By  the  powere,  there !     Captain,  how  much  will  he  weigh  ?" 

"I  guess  summut  near  on  to  ten  pound." 

"  What !  You  don't  rtiean  to  say  he'll  not  scale  more  than 
ten  pounds  ?", 

"  Yes,  sir ;  maybe  et's  summut  bigger." 

I  check  the  interesting  colloquy  by  stating  that  I  think  our 
fishes  are  about  the  same  size,  but  that  the  one  I  have  just 
hooked  is  larger  than  either.  The  judge  then  sees  that  it  is 
best  to  employ  all  his  time  at  fishing  while  the  biting  con- 
tinues.    As  I  land  the  second  one,  I  remark : 

"  Judge,  you  perceive  there  is  no  mistaking  the  bite  of  a 
sheepshead ;  his  bite  informs  you  that  he  is  in  earnest." 

"  Precisely  so.  His  bite  is  like  that  of  no  other  fish.  It 
is  as  spasmodic  as  a  bluefish  and  as  powerful  as  an  alligator, 
and  he  gives,  also,  an  indescribable  premonition,  informing 
you  that  a  powerful  fish  is  examining  your  bait.  There ! 
he's  gone !" 

"  Well,  judge,  please  examine  your  hook.  The  point  is  bro- 
ken off.  The  only  safe  place  to  hook  a  '  head'  is  in  the  lip, 
or  at  the  angle  covering  the  mandibles.  I  took  thirteen  here 
one  day,  and  played  a  greater  number  which  I  lost.  Our 
fishing-tackle  kings  should  inspire  greater  confidence  and 
better  temper  by  giving  us  finer  tempered  hooks." 


94  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

The  captain  counts  eleven  as  our  take.  Moderate,  but 
enough.  Suppose  we  reel  up  ?  Captain,  head  the  craft  home- 
ward. Let's  unjoint  our  rods,  put  them  in  their  cases,  and 
enjoy  the  sail.  To  our  left  is  the  lower  bay  of  New  York, 
the  fortifications  and  shore  of  New  Jersey.  To  our  right  is 
Rockaway,  and  the  great  South  Bay.  Those  birds  in  the 
weed*  are  yellow-leg  snipe,  and  those  on  the  sand-bars  are 
summer  snipe,  of  numerous  varieties.  The  gulls  seem  to  be 
at  war,  for  they  sally  from  the  islets  and  descend  on  spearing 
and  shoals  of  small  fry  as  if  they  were  storming  a  fortification. 

Our  horse  is  ready,  and  our  fish  are  stowed  under  the  car- 
riage seat.     We  will  try  to  drive  home  before  sundown. 

There  are  many  places  along  our  shores  better  than  Jamai- 
ca Bay,  where  we  fished  to-day,  for  sheepshead.  The  hand- 
line-committee  make  it  pay  at  Fire  Island,  and  there  are 
many  superior  feeding-places  in  the 'South  Bay.  About  the 
wreck  of  the  Black  Warrior,  near  the  Narrows,  is  celebrated 
for  great  numbers  of  them.  In  truth,  our  whole  coast  south 
of  Long  Island  is  rendered  inviting  by  this  delicious  fish. 

Late  in  autumn  the  sheepshead  are  numerous  along  the 
shores  of  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas,  but  they  are  not  so 
good  any  where  else  as  within*  the  latitude  of  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  sheepshead  of  our  northern  chain  of  lakes 
is  an  inferior  fish,  and  should  not  be  confounded  with  our 
coast  and  estuary  delicacy. 

Along  the  shores  of  New  Jersey  sheepshead  are  numerous 
from  May  until  October : 

Where  inlet  of  the  Barnegat 

Opes  to  the  boiling  surf  its  gate, 
When  the  young  flood-tide  washes  in 

Limpet  and  crab,  a  luring  bait, 
Then,  where  the  affluent  current  pours 
The  deepest  o'er  its  mussel  floors, 
The  greedy  sheepshead  hidden  lie 
To  seize  whatever  may  float  by. 
And  there,  in  dancing  boat  that  stvings 

At  anchor  in  the  floating  tides. 
The  angler  line  and  plummet  flings, 

And  takes  the  robber  where  he  hides. 


A    GAMY   AND   DELICIOUS   FlSH.  95 

SECTION  FIFTH. 

THE    KINGFISH. 

By  many  anglers  this  fish  is  regarded  as  the  best  water- 
game  of  the  estuaries.  It  is  justly  entitled  to  be  considered 
one  of  the  best  food  and  anglers'  fishes  of  the  waves  which 
wash  the  shores  from  Sandy  Hook  to  New  York  City.  Its 
small  and  hard  mouth  is  bordered  with  a  gristly  rim,  peculi- 
arly adapted  to  holding  a  small  hook.  In  the  waters  about 
the  city  this  fish  is  not  numerous,  nor  are  the  members  of  the 
limited  shoals  of  large  size,  runnii^  only  from  a  half  to  two 
pounds  each  off  Communipaw,  Kill  Von  Kull,  and  Newark 
Bay ;  but  at  the  south  end  of  Staten  Island,  in  Amboy  Bay, 
and  where  it  merges  into  the  lower  Bay  of  New  York,  near 
Freeport,  and  in  Jamaica  Bay,  near  Barren  Island,  they  some- 
times run  as  heavy  as  five  pounds.  All  along  the  South  Bay 
and  the  New  Jersey  shore  and  inlets  this  delectable  fish  is 
taken  in  greater  or  less  numbers  in  fykes,  seines,  pounds,  and 
with  the  hand-line,  while  they  yield  tithe  to  sportsmen  with 
rod  and  reel 


The  Kingfish. — Scecena  Nebulosa. — Mitchill. 

The  meat  of  the  kingfish  laminates  in  flakes  of  very  close 
texture.  It  is  a  very  heavy  fish  for  its  size.  Though  emi- 
nently a  breakfast  fish,  yet  for  a  chowder  the  epicure  prefers 
it  to  sea  bass  or  cod,  the  acknowledged  chowder  fishes.    The 


96  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

color  of  the  fish  is  gray,  with  irregular  marks  nearly  black. 
It  is  covered  with  fine,  rigid  scales,  which  extend  over  the 
head.  The  first  dorsal  is  spinous,  and  all  the  other  fins  are 
soft-rayed.  The  fish  possesses  great  propulsive  power,  as  in- 
dicated by  its  fins,  so  that  a  three-pounder  at  the  remote  end 
of  a  line,  with  delicate  bass  rod,  generally  induces  the  novice 
to  believe  the  strength,  speed,  and  endurance  of  the  fish  un- 
der-estimated. "Gently, but  firmly,"  are  the  words  in  play- 
ing a  kingfish,  which  some  denominate  "  barb,"  because  a 
short  adipose  barb  shoots  out  beneath  its  lower  jaw;  but  it 
bears  no  resemblance  to^  the  barbel  family.  It  spawns  in 
spring-time,  as  most  white-meated  fishes  do;  and,  though 
rather  solitary  in  its  habits,  it  remains  in  our  estuaries  and 
small  bays  along  the  coast  from  May  until  November.  Au- 
gust and  September  are  the  best  months  to  angle  for  it;  and 
as  the  tackle  required  should  be  adapted  to  its  size  of  mouth 
and  great  propulsive  power,  the  following  cut  may  assist  the 
angler  who  would  enjoy  the  sport  of  taking  the  fish,  which — 
for  his  inches — is  eminently  the  king  of  game  fishes. 

The  rod  is  the  common  three-jointed  bass-rod,  from  eight 
to  ten  feet  in  length.  Pivot,  multiplying  reel  of  German  sil- 
ver or  brass,  large  enough  to  carry  from  four  to  six  hundred 
feet  of  fine  linen  line. 

The  play  of  a  kingfish  is  peculiar,  though  like  the  striped 
bass  he  takes  the  bait  without  hesitation  and  starts  ^way, 
and  when  he  feels  the  prick  of  the  hook,  accelerates  his  speed, 
swimming  low,  and  making  a  very  long  and  strong  run.  If 
you  have  never  taken  one  you  will  be  puzzled  with  his  invet- 
erate persistence  in  keeping  down  and  running  deep,  and 
your  surprise  will  not  be  diminished  when  he  finally  breaks 
water  a  hundred  yards  from  the  boat ;  and  you  will  wonder, 
after  landing  a  fish  which  has  taken  you  nearly  half  an  hour 
to  kill,  that  it  weighs  scarcely  three  pounds.  The  vital  spark 
of  the  kingfish  is  very  brilliant,  and  he  is  very  tenacious  of  it ; 
but,  once  landed,  he  exhibits  a  vanquished  look,  and  his  or- 
ange-colored eyes  and  scaly  head  turn  downward,  as  if  both 


JIang-dog  Look  when  Vanquished. 


97 


KiNOFisH  Tackle. 

A.  Strong  hook,  but  small ;  either  the  Virginia  or  Sproat's  bend,  made  of  finely  tem- 
pered cast-steel,  and  needle-pointed:  a  short  bend  and  low  point  is  required,  be- 
cause the  mouth  is  very  small ;  and  a  hook  of  large  wire  in  proportion  to  the  sizt- 
of  the  bend  is  necessary,  because  of  the  great  strength  of  the  fish.  B.  Tracinjr 
sinker :  the  size  should  be  graduated  to  the  strength  of  the  tide,  hence  the  combi- 
nation sinker  is  the  best,  because  its  jjouderosity  may  be  increased  or  diminished 
without  untying  the  line.  C.  German  silver  tip,  mounted  with  carnelian  or  agate, 
to  screw  into  duplicate  tops  of  laucewood  ;  regular  size.  D.  Part  of  a  lancewood 
top,  showing  its  size,  double  guide^  and  line.  E.  Line,  showing  how  it  passes 
through  a. jewel-mounted  guide.  F.  Guide,  of  German  silver,  bell-metal,  or  alumi- 
num. 6.  Bell-metal  guide,  attached  by  the  same  ring  which  fastens  the  carnelian. 
H.  Brass  swivel,  to  one  end  of  which  the  line  is  attached,  and  to  the  other  the  lead- 
er, which  is  three  fourths  of  a  yard  in  length,  and  the  snell  to  which  the  hook  is 
wound  is  looped  to  the  leader :  both  leader  and  snell  (or  snood)  are  doable  Bilk- 
worm  gut. 

fatigued  and  ashamed ;  not  like  the  striped  bass  and  sheeps- 
head,  who  look  happy,  and  seem  to  say, "  Mr.  Angler,  I  guess 
you  had  your  metal  tried  in  playing  me ;"  or  like  a  traveler 
just  arrived  from  Europe,  assuming  an  air  of  importance,  as 
if  condescending  to  visit  America  just  to  see  for  himself  what 
the  Yankees  are  like.  But,  though  the  kingfish  looks  like  a 
deck-passenger  after  a  long  voyage,  the  angler  is  sure  of  one 
point  in  his  favor,  and  the  cook,  as  well  as  the  epicure,  will 
be  fully  assured  of  another.  • 

The  kingfish  shoals  on  a  clean  sandy  bottom,  feeds  on  Crus- 
tacea, and  prefers  shrimp,  shedder,  and  soft-shell  crabs  and 
lobsters.  Anchor  off  Barren  Island  to  the  north  of  the  edge  of 
the  channel,  and  expect  sport.  Anchor  east  of  Chesnequack 
Creek,  on  the  border  of  the  channel  between  there  and  Free- 
port,  and  in  August  and  September  you  can  not  fail  of  ob- 

G 


"98  FiSHma  in  American  Waters.    , 

taining  rapturous  sport.  Take  your  bait  with  you  from  a 
^ew  York  market,  for  fear  of  delay.  Caving  Channel,  a 
sandy  bottom  tideway  from  Communipaw  to  Jersey  City,  is 
said  to  be  a  favorite  run  for  small  kingfish,  where  good  sport 
is  often  realized  on  the  first  of  the  flood.  Kingfish  feed  also 
at  numerous  places  in  the  South  Bay,  and  all  along  the  coast 
of  New  Jersey. 

To  anglers  who  dwell  near  the  coast, 

The  kingfish  is  a  peculiar  joy  ; 
And  among  all  the  scaly  host, 

This  they  choose  as  their  favorite  toy. 

SECTION  SIXTH. 

THE    HOGFISH. 

This  fish  is  very  numerous  on  the  Bahama  banks  and  along 
the  coast  of  the  Southern  States,  visiting  in  the  spring,  which 
is  its  spawning  season,  as  far  north  as  the  mouth  of  the  Ches- 
apeake Bay.  It  is  white-meated  and  very  juicy,  requiring  no 
butter  or  lard  in  cooking,  and  its  peculiar  flavor  is  very  rich 
and  creamy,  being  the  best  table-fish  among  anglers'  fishes  of 
the  South.  It  ranges  in  weight  from  five  to  fifteen  pounds. 
Its  scales  are  rather  large,  excej)t  on  the  head,  where  they  arc 


The  Hogfish. 


very  small.  The  first  dorsal  is  spinous-rayed,  and  all  the 
rays  of  the  other  fins  are  soft.  It  is  marked  similar  to  the 
perch,  with  rays  or  bars  of  a  darker  shade  than  the  rest  of  the 
fish,  which  is  a  reddish-brown.  This  fish  is  angled  for  by 
still-baiting  with  shedder  or  soft-shell  crab,  and  with  shank- 


Delicacies  without  Olive  Oil.  99 

headed  hooks,  like  those  for  taking  large  bass.  As  its  scales 
are  very  tenacious,  some  cooks  recommend  skinning  it  as  the 
New  Englanders  do  tautog  and  yellow  perch.  It  is  an  excel- 
lent iish  Avhen  stuffed  and  baked,  but  it  is  rather  adipose  for 
boiling. 

Apropos  of  scaling  fish:  Firsts  lave  them  in  vinegar,  and 
the  most  tenacious  scales  will  be  easily  removed. 

THE    GRUNTEB. 

This  is  a  silver-sided  fish  with  gray  back  and  white  belly. 
The  fish  is  very  plump,  round,  and  fat,  without  any  foreign 
taste.  It  usually  weighs  from  two  to  five  pounds,  and  is 
juicy  enough  to  fry. without  butter.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
breakfast  fishes  of  the  shores  and  estuaries,  and  usually  shoals 
with  the  squeteague,  and  utters  several  grunts  after  being 
landed.  It  is  angled  for  the  same  as  the  squeteague.  Its 
fins  are  all  soft-rayed,  and  it  is  leather-mouthed;  medium 
sized  scales  cover  the.  body.  In  speaking  of  a  frying  fish,  1 
believe  in  the  epicurean  theory  of  never  frying  a  fish  which 
weighs  over  half  a  pound ;  and  that  boiling,  broiling,  baking, 
and  chowdering  are  the  only  true  ways  to  cook  fish,  except 
the  primitive  ones  of  rolling  them  in  buttered  paper  and  roast- 
ing them  in  hot  embers,  or  threading  them  on  a  birch  toast- 
ing-fork, with  a  slice  of  pork,  and  roasting  them  before  a 
^amp-fire.  The  grunter  is  a  great  delicacy,  and  very  good 
game  for  the  sportsman  with  rod  and  reel. 


The  Gkcntek, 


100  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


THE    GOLDEN   MULLET. 

This  is  eminently  a  fish  of  the  coast  and  inlets  of  the  Caro- 
linas,  though  in  summer  it  is  taken  in  considerable  numbers 
as  far  north  as  the  coast  and  estuaries  of  New  Jersey.  Its 
mouth  is  very  small  and  toothless,  so  that  a  person  might  be 
led  to  suppose  that  it  lived  on  animalcula  did  it  not  bite  so 
ravenously.  In  size,  the  golden  mullet  range  from  half  a 
pound  to  a  pound,  and  they  are  so  fat  that  cooks  say  "they 
fry  themselves."  I  know  of  no  fish  possessing  in  an  equal  de- 
gree the  rich,  sweet  juiciness  of  the  golden  mullet.  It  is  al- 
ways distinguishable  by  from  tw^o  to  four  jet  spots  above^ 
the  tail.  The  color  of  the  back  is  brown,  sides  golden,  belly 
white,  meat  a  cream  color.  Its  scales  are  small  and  soft,  fins 
soft-rayed.  The  body  is  masculated  in  dark  shades  like  the 
squeteague,  and  the  tail  is  straight  across  the  end. 


The  Golden  Mullet. 

The  golden  mullet  affords  exciting  sport  to  the  young  an- 
gler with  very  light  bass  and  perch  tackle.  The  rod  should 
either  be  four-jointed  and  ten  feet  long,  or  a  plain  bamboo 
pole,  mounted  with  guides  and  reel-rings.  The  reel  may  be 
small,  but  large  enough  to  carry  a  hundred  yards  of  fine  linen 
line,  because  the  angler  sometimes  hooks  squeteague,  grunt- 
ers,  striped  bass,  and  kingfish  while  angling  for  the  smaller 
delicacy.  The  golden  mullet  affects  shrimp  bait,  but  will 
sometimes  take  mussels  and  soft  clams.  The  hook  must  be 
small — single  leaders  are  preferred — and  a  swivel  and  float 
afford  the  prettiest  sport,  with  two  hooks,  as  rigged  for  small 
striped  bass.  The  golden  mullet  seldom  ventures  far  above 
the  estuaries  of  rivers,  and  it  should  not  be  disgraced  by  con- 


Spokt  for  Ladies  and  Childben.  1,01 

founding  it  with  the  numerous  family  of  mullets  of  the  Mugil 
geiius. 

THE    WHITE    PERCH. 

This  fish  is  found  at  the  meeting  of  salt  and  fresh  waters  all 
along  the  coast  from  Cape  Cod  to  the  Carolinas,  and,  though 
similar  in  essential  marks,  it  differs  in  shade  and  symmetry 
either  according  to  its  food  or  the  waters  it  inhabits.  It  is  a 
little  fish  at  best,  ranging  all  the  way  from  ]bhree  ounces  to 
three  pounds.  Of  course  you  throw  the  small  ones  back  if 
you  do  not  hook  them  in  the  gills.  The  back  is  neutral-tint- 
ed, sides  a  silvery  lustre,  and  belly  white.  The  first  dorsal  is 
spinous,  and  the  others  soft-rayed,  except  the  first  anal.  The 
Iiead  is  small,  and,  with  its  silver-plated  gill-covers,  small 
mouth,  and  little  teeth,  looks  pretty,  bites  freely,  and  resists 
the  angler  merrily.  This  fish  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  the 
sport  of  juveniles.  It  is  a  pan-fish,  white-meated,  flat,  easily 
scaled,  and  quite  a  delicacy  in  November,  for  it  is  one  of  our 
latest  biting  fishes.  Angle  for  it  with  light  bass-tackle,  and 
it  is  generally  to  be  found  near  where  a  creek  of  fresh  watei* 
empties  into  salt  water,  or  in  brackish  waters  over  springs 
which  bubble  up  from  the  bottom  of  a  pond  or  river.  A 
white  perch  which  weighs  but  a  pound  afibrds  sport  with 
light  tackle,  and,  when  weighing  three  pounds,  it  plays  very 
vigorously. 


The  White  Perch. 


i02  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


THE    SMELT. 

This  is  a  small,  delicate  fish,  supposed  by  some  to  belong 
to  the  salmon  tribe,  though  it  is  not  nearly  so  much  like  it 
as  is  a  shiner  like  a  shad.  It  is  almost  translucent,  and  from 
five  to  eight  inches  in  length ;  its  meat  is  soft,  white,  and 
sweet,  with  no  bones  but  the  spine  and  ribs,  which  are  so 
small  and  tender  that  they  are  eaten  with  the  precious  mor- 
sel of  a  fish  when  fried  hard  in  olive  oil,  or  rolled  in  flour  and 
fried  in  butter  so  as  to  be  crisp.  Its  scales  are  impercepti- 
ble, but  the  skin,  traced  in  small  diamond  lines,  is  like  the 
canvas  skin  of  the  trout  of  Long  Lake.  It  is  ash-colored  on 
the  back,  with  white  sides  and  belly.  This  is  a  favorite  bait 
for  trout  or  salmon,  and  an  excellent  sample  for  a  spinning 
bait.     As  affording  sport,  the  smelt  is  no  mean  game.     Late 


The  Smelt.  —  Osmerus  Eperlanus. — Yarrell. 

in-  the  autumn,  when  ice  begins  to  border  the  streams,  the 
angler  rigs  a  long  perch-rod  with  a  small  multiplying  reel, 
and  a  fine  line  ri^sced  with  half  a  dozen  small  trout  or  min- 
now  hooks  on  short  snells  fastened  to  the  main  line,  six  inch- 
es apart,  and  baited  with  pieces  of  shrimp  or  bits  of  clam, 
and  resorts  in  boat  up  small  tidal  streams,  anchors  and  angles 
for  them  during  the  flood  tide,  when  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
take  from  a  fourth  to  half  a  dozen  of  these  pearly  beauties  at 
a  time,  as  fast  as  he  can  bait  his  hooks  and  cast  them  near 
the  boat.  There  is  nothing  prettier  than  these  gems  dangling 
and  shining  at  the  end  of  the  line,  when  they  emit  the  odor 
of  fresh  cucumbers.  On  the  approach  of  winter,  anglers  of 
all  ages  are  seen  on  the  bridges  and  along  the  saline  streams 
of  the  coast,  from  Delaware  Bay  to  the  eastern  boundary  of 
Maine  ;  and  as  an  article  of  commerce,  thousands  are  sold  in 


A  Bait  for  Striped  Bass. 


103 


the  New  York  markets,  the  average  retail  price  being  twenty 
cents  a  pound.  The  smelt  is  eminently  the  winter  sport  for 
the  angler,  succeeding  the  white  perch  in  small  tidal  creeks. 
This  fish  will  also  take  the  fly  when  sunk  to  their  feeding- 
level  near  the  bottom. 

When  twinkling  icicles  depend 

From  woods  that  with  the  bright  freight  bend, 

When  salty  stream  and  open  sound 

With  adamantine  ice  are  bound, 

Then  o'er  the  solid  frozen  stream 

The  tents  of  the  smelt-fishers  gleam ; 

Each  opes  with  axe  the  crj'stal  floor, 

Then  patient  watches  at  the  door. 

THE    SPEARING,  OR    SILVERSIDES. 

This  is  the  same  order  of  abdominales  .as  the  smelt  and 
caplin,  shoals  with  them,  and  is  eminently  a  bait  for  the  sal- 
mon and  striped  bass.  Late  in  October,  in  a  tideway,  bait 
with  this  fish  for  striped  bass.  On  Pelham  Bridge,  anglers 
are  seen  letting  the  line  carry  out  with  the  strong  tide  this 
shiny  bait,  or  casting  with  float,  light  swivel  sinker,  and  this 
bait,  which — where  the  most  rapid  current  slackens  toward 
an  eddy — attracts  the  leap  of  a  striped,  satin-sided  beauty, 
forcing  the  blood  to  the  ends  of  the  digits  of  the  angler.  The 
upper  part  of  the  head  is  rather  flat,  and  the  tiny  gill  rays 
are  six  in  number,  and  the  side-belt  shines  like  silver. 

"  Color. — Pale  olive-green  above  the  lateral  line ;  opercles 
and  sides  silvery ;  obscure  traces  just  below  the  lateral  line 


104  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


The  Spearing,  or  Silversides. — Genus  Atherina. 

of  a  broad  satin-like  band,  extending  the  whole  length  of  the 
body ;  the  place  of  the  ribs  indicates  lustrous  stripes,  which 
disappear  shortly  after  death ;  upper  part  of  the  opercles, 
near  the  nape,  dark  green ;  caudal  dark  at  the  base,  and  with 
an  obscure  marginal  band ;  dorsal  caudal  fins  light  green ; 
pectorals,  ventrals,  and  anal  light  colored,  tinged  faintly  with 
bluish;  irides  silvery;  bones  of  the  head  sub-diaphanous." 

The  foregoing  quotation  is  from  De  Kay's  description  of 
the  smelt ;  but  he. inadvertently  described  a  spearing.  I  am 
not  surprised  at  that,  for  they  shoal  together,  and  even  Dr. 
Clerk,  an  angler  and  a  scholar,  did  not  know  the  difference 
until  I  casually  pointed  it  out  to  him. 

When  in  the  autumn's  latest  time, 
,  And  first  the  streams  run  icy  cold, 

In  Indian  summer's  crimson  prime, 

When  forest  trees  are  touched  with  gold, 
Then  take  the  silvery  fish  that  gleam 

Along  the  eddies  of  the  stream. 

THE    CAPLIN. 

This  is  the  tiny,  translucent  fish,  of  from  three  to  six  inches 
m  length,  which  shoals  in  great  abundance  on  the  shores  of 
Newfoundland  and  Labrador,  and  is  chiefly  used  as  bait  for 
cod.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  fish  belongs  to  the  same  order 
as  the  smelt  and  spearing,  the  chief  difference  consisting  in 
its  double  anal  fin.  All  codfish  fleets  employ  a  sloop,  two 
row-boats,  and  a  set  of  hands  with  caplin  nets,  to  keep  them 
supplied  with  bait.  It  is  an  interesting  sight  to  witness  a 
city  of  boats  distributed  over  many  miles  of  water  in  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  or  about  Newfoundland,  and  the  bait- 
tenders  hauling  seines  over  shoals  and  about  islands  where 
the  tiny  caplin  resort  for  protection  from  the  cod.     So,  it  ap- 


Cod  Bait  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.       105 

pears,  Great  Xature  has  wisely  ordained  that  big  fishes  shall 
eat  the  little  ones,  and,  to  compensate  for  this  consumption, 
fishes  naturally  increase  many  hundred  fold  faster  than  land 
animals,  as  before  observed. 

I  have  presented  these  three  great  baits-i-the  smelt,  spear- 
ing, and  caplin — for  the  angler's  information,  for  I  have  been 
acquainted  with  many  anglers  who  could  not  name  the  dif- 
ferent fishes  when  taken  together  in  great  masses.  Shoals 
Ox  these  fishes  are  followed  by  salmon,  codfish,  and  by  the 
larger  fishes  of  prey,  such  as  the  horse  mackerel,  cero,  and 
bonetta,  over  which  hover  flocks  of  gulls,  and  ever  and  anon 
the  latter  swoop  and  shriek  as  they  pick  up  the  debris  float- 
ing on  the  surface  left  by  the  monsters  as  they  follow  and 
feed  on  the  shoals  of  these  tender  delicacies. 


The  Caplin. — Mallotus  villosus. 
All  the  estuaries  of  rivers  and  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
teem  with  the  caplin,  and  sometimes  with  the  smelt  also,  and 
occasionally  with  all  these  three  shoaling  together.  They 
form  the  staple  food  of  the  silver  trout  of  the  estuaries.  All 
these  fishes  spawn  in  the '  spring,  and,  therefore,  I  am  sur- 
prised that  they  should  be  supposed  to  belong  to  any  brancli 
of  the  Salmo  genus. 

SECTION  SEVENTH. 

THE    SEA    BASS. 

Where  low  the  level  Jersey  shore 
Spreads  out  its  ribb'd  and  sandy  floor, 
At  break  of  day  the  fishers  launch 
The  little  skiiF,  so  swift  and  stanch, 
Spread  the  white  sail,  forsake  the  strand, 
To  dare  the  ocean  miles  from  land. 
Full  well  by  shoremarks  they  may  know 
Where  reefs  of  weeds  are  hidden  low ; 
G  2 


i06  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

,  There,  anchor'd  at  the  dawn  of  day, 

They  rob  the  marine  banks  of  prey. 

The  sea  bass  is  not  strictly  a  vegetarian,  though  it  visits 
.vegetable  banks  to  spawn  and  feast  upon  the  numerous  small 
Crustacea  which  hide  amongst  sea-weed.  It  occupies  a  re- 
spectable place  in  the  culinary  calendar,  and  is  preferred  to 
cod  for  a  chowder.  It  is  eminently  a  coast  fish,  and  seldom 
ventures  far  above  the  estuaries,  bays,  and  back-waters,  or 
bayous.  The  sea  bass,  porgee,  and  tautog  banks  along  the 
coast  of  New  Jersey  form  ona  of  the  attractions  of  Long 
Branch,  and  they  are  a  real  blessing  to  the  members  of  the 
hand-line-committee,  who  realize  in  them  a  cheap  relaxation 
from  business  and  the  lassitude  caused  by  too  constant  work 
in  a  city  during  the  heat  of  summer. 


The  Sea  Bass. 

Several  excursion  steamers  run  every  alternate  day  to  the 
Fishing  Banks,  where  they  make  a  day's  excursion  for  half  a 
dollar,  and  whence  often  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  each 
passenger  returns  with  three  dollars  worth  of  sea  bass.  A 
large  business  is  done  throughout  the  summer  and  autumn 
in  the  capture  and  sale  of  sea  bass. 

The  meat  of  the  sea  bass  laminates  in  compact  flakes,  not 
so  soft  and  watery  as  the  cod,  but  more  succulent  and  deli- 
cate in  taste.  This  fish  usually  runs  from  three  to  twelve 
pounds,  and  is  what  angler's  term  a  bottom-feeding  fish,  con- 
sequently not  an  especial  favorite  with  the  disciples  of  rod 


To  Make  a  simple  Chowdek.  107 

and  reel.  Its  feeding-grounds  extend  along  the  coast  from 
Delaware  to  Maine,  wherever  the  sea-weed  grows  from  beds 
of  mussels.  This  fish,  like  many  herbivorous  fishes  of  the 
Orient,  lays  its  eggs,  and  they  are  vivified  on  the  weeds  and 
among  the  shells  of  the  bottom.  This  process  continues  from 
May  until  August,  and  the  shoals  remain  on  the  banks  until 
most  of  their  annual  progeny  leave  the  shell,  when  they  all 
resort  to  deeper  waters  to  winter. 

It  is  a  ravenous  fish  to  bite,  and  seldom  breaks  water  until 
ready  for  the  landing-net.  Unlike  the  tautog,  its  mouth  is 
large  and  leathery,  easy  to  hook,  and  tenacious  to  hold.  Its 
color  is  a  bluish,  and  sometimes  a  greenish  black,  lightened  a 
trifle  at  the  lower  jDarts  of  the  sides  and  belly.  Its  scales  are 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  its  dorsal  fins — 
while  spinous — are  not  very  hard ;  the  other  fins  are  soft- 
rayed,  except  the  front  ray  of  the  anal. 

The  sea  bass  is  a  boiler,  but  epicures  regard  it  as  superior 
in  a  chowder.  Chowder  clubs  use  no  fish  but  sea  bass.  Lit- 
tle. Neck  clams  imi3rove  the  chowder,  and,  as  I  was  for  some 
time,  secretary  of  the  Latourette  Chowder  Club,  and.  superin- 
tended a  combination  of  the  gustatory  elements,  I  will  here 
describe  a  simple  chowder  for  anglers.  A  common  iron  pot, 
of  globular  shape,  is  best  to  make  a  chowder  in.  Slice,  as 
thin  as  possible,  enough  salt  pork  to  cover  the  bottom  and 
sides  of  the  pot,  to  prevent  the  chowder  from  burning.  Then 
cover  the  pork  with  a  layer  of  quartered  onions,  which  have 
been  previously  parboiled  fifteen  minutes ;  then  cover  the 
onions  with  a  layer  of  fish  cut  in  two-inch-square  pieces ; 
then  cover  the  fish  with  a  layer  of  tomatoes ;  then  a  layer  of 
sea-biscuit ;  then  a  layer  of  clams ;  then  a  layer  of  onions,  and 
continue  the  layers  in  the  rotation  described  until  the  pot  is 
filled.  Season  each  layer  with  salt,  and  a  mixture  of  red  and 
black  peppers,  together  with  such  other  condiments  as  de- 
sired. Cover  the  pot,  and  let  it  stew  or  boil  an  hour ;  then 
pour  upon  it  from  a  pint  to  a  quart  of  Chateau  Margaux,  or 
good  Bordeaux  claret,  and  let  it  simmer  half  an  hour  longer. 


108  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Ghowder  should  remain  over  the  fire  nearly  two  hours.  This 
chowder  has  the  merit  of  being  simple,  and — to  a  hungry 
sportsman — it  is  palatable,  though  not  so  epicurean  as  the 
chowder  made  by  the  late  Daniel  Webster,  the  receipt  for 
which  is  given  on  another  page. 

Chowder  -  parties  and  clam -bakes  are  American  institu- 
tions, and  they  are  indulged  in  annually  in  July  and  August 
throughout  the  whole  length  of  the  coasts  of  New  York  and 
Xew  England. 

In  a  commercial  point  of  view,  the  sea  bass  ranks  with  the 
tautog,  and  next  to  the  cod,  being  consumed  anrtually  to  the 
number  of  millions. 

For  capture  with  rod  and  reel  the  common  striped  bass- 
tackle  is  used.  I  have  taken  hundreds  of  small  ones  in  a  day 
while  angling  for  sheepshead.  They  take  with  equal  voraci- 
ty shrimj),  clam,  and  shedder  crab.  A  shoal  of  a  single  pair 
of  fish  number  probably  five  thousand  which  attain  to  the 
weight  of  half  a  pound  and  over ;  not  more,  because  ground- 
sharks  and  other  marine  carnivora  thin  their  ranks  when  fin- 
gerlings.  Their  feeding-time  is  during  the  lull  of  the  waters, 
between  the  turn  of  the  tides,  when  they  yield  themselves 
willing  victims  to  the  angler's  captivating  art.  They  weigl) 
from  half  a  pound  to  five  pounds,  and  some  shoals  run  from 
eight  to  fifteen  pounds.  As  one  of  our  common  food  fishes, 
it  is  a  shade  more  respectable  than  most  of  those  which  have 
by  quality  and  status  been  consigned  to  the  hand-line  multi- 
tude. 

THE    POEGEE. 

:  This  fish  runs  from  a  quarter  to  three  pounds  in  weight, 
and  unites  with  the  blackfish  (tautog)  and  bergall  (cachogset) 
to  form  the  guerrilla  army  of  thieves  for  robbing  bait  when 
the  angler,  with  hooks  too  large  for  its  mouth,  is  fishing  for 
larger  game.  Its  mouth  is  armed  with  pin-point  teeth  like 
those  of  the  perch,  and  while  it  can  not  bite  in  two  a  single 
gut  snell  or  thin  linen  line,  is  most  dexterous  in  robbing  basts 


A  SLY  Bait  Thief.  109 

hooks,  or  mauling  and  mutilating  the  bait.  It  is  a  greedy 
little  shiny  sinner,  whieh  is  both  herbivorous  and  carnivor- 
ous, foraging  on  both  fish  ^nd  vegetable  diets,  and  shoaling 
with  the  omnium  gatherum  of  bottom  fish,  which  make  their 
summer  habitations  among  the  weedy  banks  called  by  their 
name  all  along  the  coast  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  from  three 
to  six  miles  from  shore,  purveying  every  where  from  their 
homes,  into  all  the  estuaries  and  tidal  back-sets,  for  proven- 
der. The  porgee  is  one  of  the  most  numerous  of  coast  fishes, 
and  as  greedy  as  it  is  plenty.  Dr.  Brown,  in  his  Anglers' 
Guide,  states  that  the  steam-boat  which  runs  daily  to  the 
porgee  banks  in  summer  returns  with  many  thousand  pop- 


The  Pokgbjs. —Po^tms  Argyrops. 

gees,  besides  the  sea  bass  and  tautog,  averaging  from  six  to 
ten  thousand  as  their  daily  catch  with  the  hand-line.  To  the 
mechanics  and  clerks  of  the  metropolis  tliese  daily  excursions 
in  midsummer  to  the  fishing-banks  are  great  blessings ;  for, 
besides  the  inflation  of  the  lungs  with  bracing  sea-air,  the 
change  of  scene,  and  the  exercise  out  of  doors,  they  bring 
back  more  than  an  adequate  compensation  for  the  pittance 
expended  for  the  day's  recreation.  There  can  not  be  too 
many  boats  engaged  in  making  fishing-bank  excursions,  pro- 
vided  the  boats  are  sound  and  well  managed.  In  general, 
the  captains  of  excursion  steamers  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  topography  of  the  banks,  and  know  where  to  order  the 


110  FisHmG  IN  American  Wai-eks. 

heaving  of  the  anchor  for  good  fishmg.  The  charge  for  pas- 
sage includes  hand-line  tackle  and  bait,  so  that  a  man  may 
start  in  the  morning  empty-handed,  and  be  landed  at  home 
the  same  evening  with  a  large  mess  of  fish. 

The  porgee  is  a  pan-fish  of  sweet  and  delicate  flavor  when 
first  caught,  but  its  juices  soon  become  absorbed,  and,  with 
the  loss  of  its  juiciness,  becomes  nearly  tasteless.  While 
casting  along  the  coast  for '  striped  bass,  anglers  frequently 
hook  these  nimble  shiners,  and  the  guides  always  draw  them 
at  once  and  place  them  in  moss  between  a  cleft  of  rocks  for 
their  own  eating,  preferring  them  to  the  striped  bass. 

The  .porgee  is  supposed  to  spawn  on  the  weedy  banks  with 
the  sea  bass  and  tautog  early  in  sj^ring,  when  the  last  year's 
hatch  leave  for  estuaries,  purveying  to  the  head  of  tide- 
waters. In  angling  for  this  fish  perch  tackle  is  used.  The 
rod  is  from  ten  to  eleven  feet  in  length,  multiplying  reel  car- 
rying a  hundred  yards  of  fine  linen  or  silk  line,  cork  float,  and 
swivel  sinker,  single -gut  leader  and  snells,  with  minnow 
hooks.  Taking  them  is  pretty  sport  for  ladies  and  children. 
Use  shrimp  or  clam  bait,  and  let  the  bait  nearly  cover  the 
point  of  the  hook;  and  where  they  are  numerous — as  they  are 
throughout  summer  in  nearly  all  tidal  waters  in  and  above 
the  estuaries — the  angler  will  pair  them  nearly  every  time 
he  baits  his  hooks.  The  fashion  is  becoming  more  and  more 
prevalent  along  the  tidal  waters  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  where 
they  are  shut  in  from  the  heaving  and  throbbing  of  the  sea, 
for  whole  families  to  take  a  seat  in  a  row-boat  toward  even- 
ing, and  row  out  to  some  favorite  ground  not  far  from  shore, 
but  at  a  suflicient  distance  to  enjoy  difierent  landscape  views 
of  both  shores,  and  there  to  anchor  the  boat  and  angle  for 
porgees,  with  an  occasional  sea  bass,  squeteague,  and  black- 
fish.  Rocking  in  a  boat  over  the  running  tide  is  great  food 
to  vitality,  and  the  evening  scenes  from  the  water,  with  the 
pleasing  exercise  of  angling,  are  blessings  to  be  thankful 
for. 


Lies  Low  a^b  Looks  Cunnestg. 


Ill 


SECTION  EIGHTH. 


1.  Blue-striped  Wrasse,  Lahrtis  mixtus.    2.  Trumpet-fish,  Sea-snipe,  or  Bellows- 
Centriacua  scolopax.    3.  American  Tautog,  Tautoga  Americana. 

The  family  of  the  wrasses,  or  rockfish,  includes  our  com- 
mon bergalls,  the  New  York  tautog  or  common  blackfish,  and 
those  fancy-colored  species  known  as  "  old  wives  of  the  sea." 
Of  the  latter  there  are  several  varieties,  such  as  the  red  old 
wife,  the  blue  old  wife,  and  the  yelloio  old  wife,  which  are  so 
named  in  accordance  with  their  prevailing  colors.  The  thick 
pouting  lips  of  the  fish  of  this  family  are  their  most  striking 
characteristic.  The  wrasses  were  known  to  the  poet  Oppian, 
who  describes  the  beds  of  sea-weed  as  their  favorite  places 
of  resort : 

"And  there  thick  beds  of  mossy  verdure  grew — 
Sea-grass,  and  spreading  wrack  are  seen  :  below, 
Gay  rainbow-fish,  and  sable  ^vrasse  resort." 

The  foregoing  is  an  extract  from  Willson's  Fifth  Reader, 
and  forms  a  part  of  the  "  Glimpse  of  Ichthyology"  which  this 
work  includes. 


112  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


THE    TAUTOG, 

This  fish  (Fig.  3)  is  termed  tautog  along  the  coast  of  New 
England,  and  is  equally  well  known  as  hlackfish  along  the 
shores  of  Long  Island  and  New,  Jersey,  south  of  which  it  is 
not  numerous,  nor  is  it  north  of  the  Vineyard  Sound,  though 
it  has  greatly  increased  along  Cape  Cod  within  the  past  fif- 
teen years. 

Wherever  kelp  and  sea-weed  cling 
To  ramparts  form'd  of  rugged  rocks, 
The  tautog  finds  a  dwelling-place, 
Deep  down  in  waters  at  their  base ; 
Or  where  a  passing  boat  hath  met 
Its  fate  along  the  rocky  shore. 
And,  with  its  broken  ribs  and  keel, 
Lies  rotting  on  the  ocean  floor — 
There,  where  the  clinging  shell  and  weed 
Gather,  and  barnacles  abound. 
The  blackfish,  seeking  out  their  feed. 
In  numbers  by  the  hook  are  found. 

The  tautog  is  one  of  the  largest  family  of  fishes  which  in- 
habit the  waters  along  the  coast  from  Vineyard  Sound  to  Del- 
aware Bay.  Urchins  along  shores  begin  fishing  by  taking 
cachogset,  kunners,  and  bergalls — all  of  the  diminutive  car- 
nivora  or  bait-robbers — and  if,  in  their  efforts,  they  succeed  in 
capturing  a  tautog,  the  lucky  urchin  who  thus  succeeds  to 
the  first  step  of  fishing  thereafter  scrapes  money  together  to 
purchase  a  regular  hand-line  and  two  tautog  hooks,  with  a 
heavy  sinker.  He  then  rigs  a  hand-line  en  regie,  and  consid- 
ers himself  a  juvenile  member  of  the  "hand-line-committee," 
not  to  be  entitled  to  full  membership  until  he  can  earn  by 
fishing  a  miniature  scow  large  enough  to  float  two  young- 
sters of  from  seven  to  ten  years  of  age.  Then,  with  a  stone 
for  anchor,  they  scull  from  clump  to  reef  of  rocks  near  the 
shores  of  our  tidal  estuaries  and  small  bays,  and  once  in  a 
while  add  to  their  catches  of  blackfish  a  weakfish,  or  even  a 
striped  bass  !  This  achievement  affords  the  barefooted  regi- 
ment a  week's  discussion,  and  forthwith  the  luckv  urchin  be- 


Members  of  the  HAND-LmE-coMMiTTEE.  113 

comes  the  arbiter  in  all  piscatorial  disputes,  as  w;ell  as  the 
counselor  in  all  arrangements  of  fishing-tackle,  until  some 
other  boy  takes  a  larger  fish. 

But  the  blackfish,  or  tautog^  is  not  to  be  disdained  by  the 
disciple  of  rod  and  reel.  Though  he  is  eminently  a  commer- 
cial fish,  yet  a  tide-runner  of  his  family  which  weighs  from 
eight  to  twelve  pounds  makes  such  dips  and  runs  as  try  both 
the  angler  and  his  tackle.  A  somewhat  celebrated  senator 
of  Rhode  Island  (now  the  Chinese  embassador)  used  annual- 
ly to  spend  several  summer  weeks  in  fishing  for  tautog  with 
an  artistically-rigged  hand-line.  He  sculled  his  boat  to  the 
edge  of  the  tide,  on  the  bank  between  a  rapid  current  and 
nearly  slack  water,  and  near  an  islet  or  reef  of  rocks  in  the 
Seconnet  River,  where  the  water  is  about  fifteen  feet  deep ; 
anchored  his  punt  firmly,  standing  up  in  the  stern,  and  cast 
some  seventy-five  feet  of  line,  armed  with  two  hooks  about 
two  feet  above  the  sinker,  and  baited  with  clam.  In  this 
way  I  have  known  him  to  take  one  hundred  pounds  of  tau- 
tog in  one  hour. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Seconnet  River  there  are  numerous 
pounds,  built  of  stone,  or  staked  out  with  netting,  for  the 
purpose  of  catching  tautog,  porgee  —  or  scapogue,  as  the  • 
large  ones  are  called — and  numerous  minor  bottom  fry.  Re- 
cently a  salmon  was  caught  in  one  of  these  infamous  traps, 
and,  if  it  is  seriously  contemplated  to  restore  salmon  to  our 
deserted  rivers,  the  first  step  should  be  to  take  up  all  nets 
fastened  to  stakes  in  the  rivers  and  along  the  coast. 

Tautog  are  eaten  while  fresh.  Neither  the  tautog  or  any 
other  fish  of  the  estuaries  which  is  angled  for  are  cured  hy 
salt  or  refrigeration.  They  are,  as  it  were,  hand-to-mouth 
fishes.  Both  the  tautog  and  sea  bass  are  kept  alive  many 
days,  and  sometimes  weeks,  in  fish-cars  anchored  in  water 
suited  to  their  growth.  The  blackfish  is  next  to  the  shad  in 
affording  the  greatest  amount  of  estuary  fish  to  our  markets. 
Its  meat  is  watery,  and  the  scales  are  so  firmly  set  that  some 
])ersons  invariably  lave  them  in  vinegar  before  scaling.     In 

H 


114  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Wateks. 

New  England  they  generally  skin  tlie  tautog,  as  an  easier 
process  than  scaling,  and  consider  it  a  culinary  delicacy  when 
properly  cooked,  of  which  there  are  three  methods,  ^.  e.,  broil- 
ing, frying,  and  stewing.  Before  frying  the  fish,  score  him 
across  each  side  an  inch  apart,  as  you  would  any  breakfast 
pan-fish.  Fry  some  salt  pork  to  a  crisp ;  .take  out  the  pork, 
and,  while  the  fat  is  so  hot  as  to  be  next  to  blazing,  roll  your 
fish  in  a  mixture  of  rye  and  corn  meal,  and  place  it  in  the 
sparkling  hot  fat,  and  let  it  brown.  Turn  it  twice,  and  dredge 
it  each  time  with  flour,  so  that  its  crust  will  become  an  eighth 
of  an  inch  thick.  After  broiling,  and  while  piping  hot,  baist 
it  with  butter,  salt  it,  and  give  it  a  simple  dash  of  red  pep- 
per, which  stimulates  without  inflaming  the  stomach,  and  the 
slightest  dash  of  black  as  a  bouquet,  though  it  does  inflame 
the  stomach  without  stimulating  or  assisting  digestion. 

The  following  receipt  by  an  editor  oiquelque  chose  de  goUt 
is  worth  remembering : 

"  Now,  fair  ruler  of  the  destinies  of  dinner  (for  if  thou  beest 
a  man  I  have  no  sympathies  toward  thee),  smoke-compelling 
Betty,  or  Mary,  or  whatever  else  may  be  the  happy  appella- 
tive in  which  not  only  thou,  but  all  of  us  rejoice,  thou  hast 
before  thee  one  of  the  most  delicately  absorbent  substances 
in  nature,  imbibing  flavor  from  every  thing  which  surrounds 
it,  whether  of  adverse  or  of  propitious  tendency ;  subject,  as 
Warren  Hastings  said  of  the  tenure  of  the  British  possessions 
in  India,  alike  '  to  the  touch  of  chance  or  the  breath  of  opin- 
ion.' 

"  Thou  hast  it,  my  choice  Mary !  The  small,  deep  stew- 
pan — with  its  thin  cullender  or  strainer,  on  which  the  fish  is 
to  be  lowered  to  the  bottom,  that  it  may,  when  stewed  into 
soft  delight,  be  gently  raised  again  without  injuring  its  integ- 
rity of  form — glows  with  brightness  in  front  of  thee  !  Thy 
vigorous  arm  of  mottled  red,  thy  round  wrist,  and  small,  com- 
pact fingers,  grasp  the  sharp-pointed  knife  with  which  to  sat- 
isfy thyself  that  not  one  scale  remains  around  the  head,  the 
fins,  the  tail. 


To   CA'J^H   AND   COOK    TaUTOG.  115 

"  Now  tail  and  fins  are  nicely  shortened  in  their  termina- 
tion, not  hacked  ofi*.  A  little  salt  is  thrown  over  the  fish, 
merely  to  harden  and  not  scdt  it,  and  it  lies  two  hours  iov  this 
'purpose.  It  is  then  scored,  that  it  may  not  break  when  it 
swells,  and  browned  well  upon  the  gridiron,  from  which  it 
is  carefully  taken  up,  and  laid  to  repose  upon  a  bed  of  nicely- 
peeled  and  very  fresh  mushrooms,  daintily  spread  over  the 
strainer. 

"  While  the  fish  was  hardening,  Mary  has  had  a  communi- 
cation from  up  stairs.  An  extra  bottle  of  the  Chateau  of 
twenty-five  had  been  unavailingly  opened  the  day  before  to 
tempt  a  total  abstinence  friend  who  had  arrived  from  the 
country.  Good  part  of  it  remains,  and  at  this  moment  it  is 
decanted  into  the  stew-pan ;  the  freighted  strainer  descends 
into  the  wine,  and  the  fish,  entirely  immersed  in  the  amethysr 
tine  element,  regrets  no  more  its  loss  of  life,  of  liberty,  and 
youth.  A  white  onion  or  two  is  sliced  into  rings,  that  fall  as 
decorations  over  him ;  a  few  berries  of  pepper  thrown  in ;  six 
cloves ;  two  blades  of  mace ;  an  eschalot,  if  you  think  proper ; 
and  Cayenne  or  not,  according  to  your  taste.  The  stew-pan 
is  then  covered,  and  a  careful,  slow,  epicurean  simmer  com- 
pletes the  work." 

During  winter  the  blackfish  hibernates  under  rocks  in  the 
bays  and  estuaries,  as  proven  by  the  vent  entirely  closing 
and  a  thin  film  growing  over  the  mouth.  In  the  spring  they 
appear  with  the  dogwood  blossom  and  the  chestnut  leaves. 

"  When  chestnut  leaves  are  as  big  as  thumb-nail, 
Then  bite  blackfish  without  fail ; 
But  when  chestnut  leaves  are  as  long  as  a  span, 
Then  catch  blackfish  if  you  can." 

In  angling  for  the  tautog,  use  a  heavy  bass  rod,  heavy  trac- 
ing sinker  like  that  for  sheepshead,  but  hooks  of  the  Virginia 
bend  and  short  nib.  Swivel  sinkers  are  preferred  by  some. 
Let  the  point  of  hook  be  very  sharp.  Sometimes  striped 
bass,  sea  bass,  squeteague,  grunters,  and  sheepshead  feed  with 
the  tautog.     It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  rig  with  as  large  a 


116  Fishing  in  Amebic a]%  Waters. 

hook  as  will  answer  for  small  striped  bass  and  squeteague, 
and  one  strong  enough  for  tautog,  or  one  rather  larger  than 
the  common  blackfish  hook.  Let  your  leader  be  part  of  your 
line,  say  three  fourths  of  a  yard  long,  and  attached  to  a  brass 
swivel;  run  the  line  through  the  tracing  sinker,  and  attach 
it  to  the  upper  end  of  the  swivel.  Bait  with  shrimp,  shedder 
crab  or  shedder  lobster,  fiddler,  soft  or  hard  shell  clam,  or  the 
sand-worm  dug  along  the  sandy  shore  at  low  tide. 

The  tautog  bites  like  the  sheepshead,  but  with  less  power. 
You  feel  the  premonition,  but  when  he  dashes  aside  the  pull 
is  weaker  than  that  of  a  sheepshead.  I  mean  now  a  tide-run- 
ning tautog  of  from  three  to  eight  pounds,  which  feeds  on  the 
edge  of  swift  water,  has  a  white  nose,  and  is  fair  game.  The 
tautog  which  feeds  close  to  the  base  of  the  rocks  is  an  adept 
at  getting  hooks  or  sinkers  fastened  in  the  clefts,  for  so  soon 
as  he  bites  he  darts  under  or  between  the  rocks,  leaving  the 
angler  thankful  if  the  fish  will  liberate  the  hook  or  sinker  as 
the  price  of  his  freedom.  The  bite  of  a  small  blackfish  of 
from  one  fourth  of  a  pound  to  a  pound  is  like  that  of  a  roach 
or  sunfish,  but  large  ones  bite  with  energy,  and  play  so  as  to 
afibrd  sport.  All  the  fishes  angled  for  along  the  coast,  except 
the  striped  bass  and  bluefish,  are  usually  landed  with  a  net. 
The  color  of  the  tautog  is  bluish-black,  with  a  lighter  shade 
under  the  belly  and  lower  mandible.  The  mouth  is  furnish- 
ed with  very  small  teeth.  The  engraving  is  a  perfect  coun- 
terpart of  the  fish  in  appearance. 

The  Flounder. — Pleuronectes  Flesiis. 

The  flounder  is  an  important  estuary  fish  for  boys  and  hand 
line  fishers,  though  it  is  not  appreciated  very  highly  by  rod 
fishermen.  It  is  one  of  the  latest  fishes  angled  for  in  autumn 
when  the  icicles  begin  to  form,  and  it  is  the  first  fish  that 
bites  in  the  spring.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  estuaries  and  up 
the  rivers  as  far  as  salt  water  runs ;  also  in  our  bays.  It  is 
a  fish  of  the  temperate  zone,  and,  from  its  great  numbers  in 
spring  in  all  the  inlets  from  the  Atlantic,  is  a  profitable  fish, 


A  Btter  and  Bboilek.  117 

and  a  great  blessing  to  the  poor.  Though  generally  caught 
with  a  hand-line,  many  are  taken  in  set-nets  and  fykes.  With 
light  perch  tackle,  small  hooks,  and  clam  bait,  it  furnishes 
sport  to  the  disciple  of  rod  and  reel  who  does  not  fish  for 
trout,  and  has  no  fishing  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  until 
the  striped  bass  awaken  to  a  feeding  sense,  which  is  usually 
from  the  first  to  the  twentieth  of  May,  toward  the  head  of 
tide  water. 

SECTION  NINTH. 

THE    BLUEFISH. 

Professor  Mitchill  has  given  to  this  fish,  which  affords 
more  sport  with  the  troll  than  any  other,,  the  classical  name 
of  Temnodon  SaUator,  the  first  from  temno,  to  cut  in  pieces, 
probably  indicating  its  sharp  teeth ;  and  the  last  signifying 
a  pantomime  dancer,  doubtless  with  reference  to  its  leaping 
or  skipping ;  but,  as  if  these  names  were  not  sufficiently  de- 
scriptive, he  adds  those  o^ Scomber Plumheus,  or  leaden  mack- 
erel. ' 


mz^ 


The  Bluefish. —  Temnodon  Saltator. — Mitchill. 

The  bluefish  is  known  along  the  coast  of  New  England  as 
the  horse  mackerel,  but  that  is  a  different  fish,  and  grows  to 
the  weight  of  a  thousand  pounds,  and  sometimes  more,  while 
the  bluefish  seldom  attains  to  twenty,  though  I  have  heard 
of  thirty-pounders.  The  color  from  the  back  to  the  almost 
imperceptible  lateral  line  is  a  leaden  blue,  whence  it  gradu- 
ally lightens  to  a  white  belly.  The  first  dorsal  fin  is  spinous 
— very  sharp  and  strong,  while  the  second  and  anal  are  ap- 


118  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Wateks. 

proximately  rigid,  being  fixed  and  translucent;  the  rays, 
though  not  spinous,  remain  standing  even  after  life  is  extinct. 
These  fins  are  like  sails  always  set,  or  like  a  centre-board 
above  as  well  as  in  the  keel.  The  body,  head,  and  fins  for 
half  an  inch  are  covered  with  infinitesimal  scales.  The  jaws 
are  very  strong,  and  the  gill-covers  like  three  plates  of  steel 
The  jaws  are  armed  with  a  row  of  strong,  closely-set,  sharp 
teeth,^  which  will  cut  a  cord  of  one  fourth  of  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter in  two  as  smoothly  as  it  could  be  done  with  a  knife,  for 
they  are  sharp-edged,  and  those  of  each  jaw  are  like  saw- 
teeth which  match  perfectly ;  therefore  beware  of  fingers  in 
dislodging  a  hook  from  its  powerful  jaws. 

The  young  bluefish,  which  are  hatched  in  quiet  nooks  of 
bays  along  the  beaches,  wag  their  way  like  other  estuary 
younglings,  without  being  provided  with  a  bag  of  provision 
suspended  by  the  umbilical  cord,  like  the  young  of  the  Salmo 
genus,  but  by  instinct  they  propel  their  tiny  selves  to  the  sa- 
line creeks  and  inlets  from  the  sea,  to  prevent  being  devoured 
by  the  parents  which  visit  the  spawning  beds  early  in  June, 
to  subsist  on  such  of  their  young  as  have  not  yet  emigrated. 
The  young  fish  are  vulgarly  called  "  snapper"  or  "  snaj^ping 
mackerel,"  and  are  the  bright  little  predacious  thieves  which 
steal  by  small  particles  the  angler's  bait  before  striped  bass 
or  squeteague  can  get  a  taste  of  it.  In  October,  having 
grown  to  the  weight  of  half  a  pound  each,  the  shoal  reunites 
preparatory  to  going  into  winter  quarters,  where  the  Gulf 
Stream  keeps  the  water  at  an  even  temperature ;  and  if  per- 
chance they  meet  gut  snells  on  their  way,  they  bite  them  in 
two  without  effort.  During  the  last  fortnight  of  their  sojourn 
near  the  shore  they  purvey  for  young  menhaden  and  spear- 
ing, but  keep  at  a  respectful  distance  from  shoals  of  older 
fish.  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  case  with  nearly  all  shoals 
of  coast  and  estuary  fishes,  and  a  shoal  is  merely  the  progeny 
of  one  pair  of  fishes,  and  the  hatch  of  one  laying  of  ova. 
Though  in  summer  they  may  wander  apart  for  food,  yet, 
warned  by  an  unerring  instinct,  they  reunite  in  autumn  to 
form  an  army. 


Best  for  Table  in  October.  119 

The  bliiefish  returns  to  our  shores  after  its  first  voyage  a 
two-pounder,  being  then  one  year  old ;  and  by  autumn  these 
eighteen-months'  old  fish  weigh  from,  three  to  five  pounds 
each ;  but  only  those  which  weigh  from  five  to  fifteen  poimds, 
with  a  semi-occasional  twenty-pounder,  are  regarded  as  good 
sport  for  the  troll.  These  large  ones  are  seldom  taken  in 
pounds  or  nets,  for  they  can  liberate  themselves  with  their 
teeth  from  almost  any  net  or  pen  not  made  of  steel ;  but  the 
younger  shoals  evince  more  prying  curiosity,  which  leads 
many  of  them  into  nets  fastened  to  ground  fixtures  in  sufii- 
cient  numbers  to  keep  our  markets  supplied  with  them  from 
June  until  November. 

But  the  midsummer  bluefish,  having  recently  spawned  in 
our  bays,  are  lean  and  dry  food  unless  cooked  within  the  same 
hour  they  are  caught,  when  they  are  juicy  and  tender,  but 
lack  the  rich  succulency  of  the  October  shoals.  The  bluefish 
taken  in  autumn  is  equally  good  as  a  broiler,  or  to  bake  or 
souse,  so  long  as  it  can  be  kept  sweet  by  the  use  of  ice.  This 
is  the  case  with  every  branch  of  the  mackerel  family ;  and 
the  bluefish  of  October,  when  canned  in  salt,  is  preferred  by 
many  to  the,  common  mackerel.  Both  the  bluefish  and  mack- 
erel are  in  best  condition  from  the  middle  of  October  until 
the  tenth  of  November,  when  they  begin  to  deteriorate  and 
fall  away  to  thinness,  probably  because  the  butter-fish  and 
bay-shiners  have  settled  away  to  hibernate,  and  the  smelt  and 
spearing  have  moved  into  brackish  waters,  leaving  the  blue- 
fish no  alternative  but  to  starve  or  move  farther  south,  and 
within  the  influence  of  the  Gulf  Stream. 

It  is  well  understood  by  amateurs  and  fishermen  that  the 
bluefish,  like  the  prawn,  visit  our  bays  and  estuaries  period- 
ically, remaining  sometimes  only  a  season,  and  at  other  times 
several  years.  The  present  visit  of  the  bluefish  has  been  the 
longest  one  known  to  the  oldest  inhabitant  of  Long  Island, 
having  lasted  twenty  years.  Every  year  since  its  present 
advent  it  has  become  more  numerous  and  larger.  In  1850, 
a  ten-pound  bluefish  was  a  greater  curiosity  than  is  a  twenty- 


120 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


pound  one  now.  Then,  shoals  of  bluefish  were  rare ;  now 
they  are  to  be  met  with  every  where  that  the  angler  plies  his 
gentle  art  along  the  Atlantic  coast. 

In  trolling  for  bluefish,  metal  squid  are  supposed  to  be  the 
best,  though  bone,  ivory,  and  pearl  are  frequently  used  in  a 
light  breeze  for  small  fish.  Large,  heavy  baits  are  best  for 
large  bluefish.  The  following  engraving  illustrates  the 
shapes,  and  they  should  be  made  from  five  to  six  inches  in 
length,  or  they  can  be  purchased  of  the  right  weights  and 
patterns  at  our  best  fishing-tackle  stores. 


Bluefish  Squids. 

No.  1.  Material  German  silver,  with  a  pearl  plate  inlaid  on 
each  side.  The  shank  of  the  hook  extends  through  the 
squids,  and  the  troUing-line  attaches  to  the  ring  by  a 
double  hitch,  or  to  a  strip  of  raw  hide — which  is  better — 
that  plays  freely  in  the  ring.  The  points  of  the  hooks  are 
at  right  angles  with  the  width  of  the  squid. 

No.  2.  Block  tin  or  Britannia  metal,  flat  on  the  under  side, 
and  forming  three  edges,  as  represented.  The  loop  at  the 
end  of  the  trolling-line  closes  at  the  hole  in  the  end  of  the 
squid  by  thrusting  the  loop  through  and  over  the  end  of 
the  squid.  On  each  side  of  the  middle  there  is  a  hole 
drilled,  in  which  red  webbing  or  burnt  wool  braid  is  in- 
serted, and  a  knot  formed  with  it  as  represented,  for  either 
red  cloth  or  blood  attract  nearly  all  species  of  game  fish. 


Shaup  Hooks  axd  Strong  Lines.  121 

The  hooks  should  be  very  strong,  and  the  points  should  be 
filed  very  sharp :  this  last  piece  of  advice  applies  to  all  hooks 
for  all  kinds  of  fishing,  and  its  importance  is  not  generally 
appreciated  by  amateur  fishermen. 

TroUing-lines  of  cotton  are  better  than  linen  lines.  They 
should  be  hawser-laid,  so  as  not  to  kink,  and  be  from  three 
eighths  to  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Although  it  is 
well  to  have  them  fifty  yards  in  length,  yet  when  the  fish  are 
feeding  in  earnest  fifty  feet  is  line  enough  to  let  ofi*.  Always 
fasten  the  end  of  your  line  to  the  boat,  and  in  case  you  put 
outriggers,  a  check  line  should  be  attached  to  each  to  draw 
them  to  the  boat  or  yacht,  so  as  to  take  hold  of  them  without 
disturbing  the  rigger.  Lines  to  outriggers  should  be  so  short 
as  to  skitter  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

Gloves  of  heavy  woolen  yarn  should  be  worn ;  the  line 
will  wear  through  leather  much  quicker  tlian  through  wool, 
and  woolen  gloves  do  not  slip,  and*  they  are  more  comforta- 
ble to  the  hands.  It  is  common  to  double  the  gloves  over 
the  forefinger  and  on  the  under  side  of  the  little  fingers. 
Buckskin  or  dogskin,  the  two  best  kinds  of  leather  to  use 
when  wet,  are  only  a  momentary  protection,  good  for  noth- 
ing as  troUing-gloves  or  thumb-stalls. 


"V- 


The  Flying  Fish. 


122 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


Trim  the  white  sail ;  the  rising  breeze 

Blows  freshly  from  the  open  seas ; 

It  ripples  over  ocean's  breast, 

Tips  with  the  foam  each  billow's  crest. 

Now  cast  astern  the  dripping  line, 

That  cuts  and  whistles  through  the  brine. 


TROLLING  FOR  BLUEFISH. 

ROLLING  for  bluefish  by 
New  York  sportsmen  is 
generally  done  in  sail- 
boats, and  the  flood  tide  is 
best.  Therefore,  whether 
we  start  with  sail-boat  or 
yacht  from  the  city,  or  go 
to  Islip  or  South  Oyster 
Bay,  or  to  Rockaway  or 
Canarsie  to  sail  from,  it  is 
best  to  sail  out  to  the  feed- 
ing-grounds during  the  ebb 
tide,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  no 
delay  after  the  fish  begin 
to  bite ;  and  as  the  fish  ap- 


How  TO  Sail  a^d  Troll.  123 

proach  nearer  shore  with  the  rising  tide,  the  sail-boats  may 
be  working  nearer  home,  so  as  not  to  be  obliged  to  stem  a 
strong  ebb  tide  in  returning  to  port.  The  best  grounds  for 
large  bluefish  are  outside  and  near  the  inlets  of  Fire  Island. 
These  inlets  are  formed  by  the  tides  of  the  Atlantic  passing 
through  Fire  Island  into  the  South  Bay;  the  principal  ones 
are  oj^posite  Islip  and  South  Oyster  Bay.  But  late"  in  the 
fall  the  best  trolling  is  off  Rockaway  and  Jamaica  Bay,  the 
grounds  extending  from  the  Highlands,  off"  the  Jersey  shore, 
to  some  ten  miles  below  the  light-ship. 

As  a  sample  of  the  sport,  I  will  recount  my  last  day's  ex- 
perience. My  respected  friend  Gilsten  having  retired  nearly 
twenty  years  ago  to  the  charming  village  of  Fort  Hamilton, 
of  which  he  owns  the  greater  part,  residing  on  the  border 
of  the  troUing-grounds,  and  in  close  proximity  to  the  favor- 
ite resorts  of  sheepshead,  squeteague,  and  kingfish,  has  given 
his  exclusive  attention  to  field-sports  for  many  years,  angling 
and  trolling  in  the  waters  between  New  York  City  and  the 
Narrows  until  November,  when  he  repairs  to  his  island  near 
the  coast  of  Virginia,  and  shoots  duck  and  wild  geese  until 
the  first  of  January.  Being  a  gentleman  of  good  taste  and 
large  experience,  as  he  could  not  angle  in  the  winter,  he  has 
kindly  employed  his  time  in  designing  trolls  and  stools  for 
fishing  and  shooting.  Well,  my  friend  Gilsten  called  at  my 
office  one  evening  late  last  October,  and  left  me  two  squids, 
with  notice  that  the  bluefish  were  biting  generously  in  the 
Lower  Bay,  and  that  he  would  be  obliged  if  I  would  try  his 
newly-designed  models,  of  which  the  foregoing  samples  were 
copies.  I  therefore  acted  promptly  upon  his  generous  advice, 
and  called  on  my  angling  friend  Charles  Gaylor  and  several 
others,  all  of  whom  agreed  to  meet  me  promptly  next  morn- 
ing at  seven  o'clock  at  the  yacht  moored  in  Jamaica  Bay. 
Of  course  none  of  them  came  to  time ;  and  as  Captain  Morri- 
son brought  the  yacht  alongside  the  dock,  a  haze,  perceptible 
on  the  waters,  was  just  lifting  at  the  rise  of  the  sun.  A  gen- 
erous breeze  flapped  the  sails  of  the  trolling  crafts  lying-to 


124     '  Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 

awaiting  company,  but  nearly  all  the  trolling  fleet  had  sailed 
hours  before,  and  the  lowness  of  the  ebb  tide  warned  us  not 
to  delay.  We  therefore  wore  away,  passing  between  Barren 
Island  and  Rockaway  Beach,  amid  shrieks  of  gulls  and  flights 
of  duck,  the  sun  lighting  up  the  beach  and  the  breakers,  and 
rendering  them  scintillant  as  they  flashed  upon  us  between 
the  clouds  of  fog  .which  at  fitful  turns  enveloped  us.  Pres- 
ently a  gentle,  fog-subduing  warmth,  with  wind  freshening, 
made  our  jolly  craft  dance  along,  and  all  nature  appeared  de- 
lightsome. 

"  On  the  surface  ranging,  boys, 
We'll  beat  from  bay  to  bay ; 
Sea  and  water  changing,  boys, 
It's  the  angler's  way : 
So  we  troll, 
One  and  all, 
And  cheerily,  cheerily  pass  the  day." — Stoddart. 

We  passed  on  near  the  Black  Warrior,  whose  battered 
wreck  was  lifted  silently  above  the  waves  as  a  warning  to  im- 
potent man  against  rashness.  Toward  the  Narrows  and  the 
light-ship  the  fleet  of  trollers  were  gayly  tacking  and  cross- 
ing each  other's  wakes  hither  and  thither  over  the  bluefish 
shoals,  so  that, 

"  Why  sure,  thought  they, 
The  devil's  to  pay, 
'Mongst  folks  above  the  water. " 

Soon  we  joined  the  merry  fleet.  Our  trolls  had  been  put 
out  as  we  entered  the  bay,  and  our  outriggers  from  each  side 
of  the  craft,  a  little  aft  of  midships,  consisting  of  stifi"  poles 
with  a  line  attached  to  the  end  of  each,  and  a  troll  at  the  oth- 
er end,  but  the  line  so  short  that  the  troll  skittered  on  the  top 
of  the  waves.  A  check  line  was  fastened  to  the  main  one, 
with  its  end  in  the  boat,  so  as  to  draw  the  main  line  in  with- 
out moving  the  hoop-pole  rod  to  which  it  was  attached.  In 
addition  to  the  two  outriggers  we  had  four  trolling-lines  out, 
the  ends  of  which  were  fastened  to  the  tafi*rail  of  the  boat. 
'Captain  Morrison  took  the  first  fish,  a  ten-pounder.  "  Small,'' 
said  the  captain.     Presently  a  whirl  was  made  at  one  of  my 


Gay  Pasties  all  Engaged.  l^S 

squids ;  another  dash,  and  he  hooked  himself.  I  took  hold  to 
pull  him  in  hand  over  hand,  but  the  pull  was  quite  enough 
for  me.  Before  I  landed  him  another  was  on  my  other  squid, 
which  my  helper  landed.  Now  a  whopper  fastened  to  my 
first  hook,  and  I  found  him  difficult  to  draw  in;  he  weighed 
nearly  twenty  pounds,  and  was  as  much  as  I  could  manage. 
The  prospect  was  most  gay  and  enlivening,  as  the  fleet  con- 
sisted of  small  sail-boats,  cat-boats,  sloops,  schooners,  and 
yachts,  over  sixty  in  all,  crossing  and  jibing,  while  the  troU- 
ers  were  tugging  and  hauling  at  fish,  and  all  seemed  to  vie 
with  the  jollity  of  the  gulls  and  the  fun  of  the  loons,  which 
kept  jabbering,  with  now  and  then  a  scream  and  hurrah,  as 
if  they  joined  in  our  sport. 

We  continued  trolling  until  noon,  when  the  wind  died  away 
and  we  turned  our  craft  homeward.  We  counted  our  take, 
which  numbered  thirty-six  fish,  and  weighed  four  hundred  and 
eighty  pounds,  averaging  over  thirteen  pounds  each.  Thus 
ended  one  of  the  most  interesting,  health-givmg,  and  delight- 
ful days  of  the  season. 

Trolling  with  sail  and  row  boats  in  September  and  October 
is  extensively  indulged  in  by  amateurs  and  professional  fish- 
ermen who  fish  for  a  livelihood  along  the  shores  from  the 
east  end  of  Massachusetts  to  Chesapeake  Bay ;  and  as  the 
shoals  begin  to  turn  southward  in  September,  the  best  troll- 
ing is  in  October  along  Long  Island  and  the  Jersey  shores, 
Mftcr  which  the  angling  is  good  along  the  coasts  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia  up  to  December. 

Although  the  bluefish  is  sufficiently  plucky  to  take  a  coarse 
troll,  and  few  venture  to  angle  for  him  with  ordinary  tackle, 
even  with  gimp  snells,  yet,  with  good  bass-tackle  and  strong 
hooks,  either  wound  with  copper  wire  on  a  heavy  gimp  lead- 
er or  snell,  or  with  a  hook  fastened  with  wire  to  a  piano 
string,  capital  sport  is  found  at  still-baiting  for  them  from  a 
boat  anchored  along  the  edge  of  tideways  in  the'  estuaries 
and  near  the  shores  of  bays.     The  coast  of  Rhode  Island,  and 


126  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

the  islands  which  form  the  Elizabeth  group,  are  filled  with 
shoals  of  them  all  summer  and  fall,  where  they  forage  foi* 
menhaden  and  young  mackerel ;  and,  anchoring  in  either  of 
the  straits  which  separate  those  islands,  we  find  that  the  cast 
of  a  menhaden  bait  is  usually  met  by  the  generous  ofiers  of 
half  a  dozen  fish,  whose  whirls  make  the  tide  boil.  Were  it 
not  that  the  electrical  jerk  of  the  bite  of  a  large  bluefish  has 
such  great  power  in  it  as  to  make  the  angler  sometimes  feel 
that  he  too  is  being  fished  for,  and  that  its  teeth  are  so  sharp 
as  to  make  strong  and  heavy  tackle  necessary,  it  would  be 
considered  incomparably  the  highest  game-fish  of  the  Ameri- 
can coast. 

When  estimating  the  value  of  anglers'  fishes  by  the  play 
they  give,  and  the  scenes  into  which  the  angler  is  led  in 
search  of  each  kind,  the  bluefish  must  occupy  a  foremost 
rank ;  and  the  man  who  has  neither  trolled  nor  still-baited  for 
this  peculiar  fish — the  best  breakfast  fish  on  our  coast  except 
the  Spanish  mackerel  —  has  two  treats  in  store,  which,  the 
sooner  he  improves,  the  earlier  he  will  regret  that  he  had  not 
tasted  before. 

SECTION  TENTH. 

THE   SPANISH   MACKEREL. 

Lovely  with  all  their  spangled  dyes, 
Fairer  than  flush'd  autumnal  skies, 
With  gold-drops  all  their  sides  a-glow, 
Tinct  like  the  rainbow's  prismy  bow, 
The  Spanish  mackerel  gorgeous  roam 
The  rolling,  yeasty  world  of  foam ; 
Now  glittering  o'er  the  waves  they  skim. 
Now  lost  in  deep  abysses  swim. 

This  incomparable  breakfast  luxury  is  a  comparative  stran- 
o-er  to  us,  and,  though  never  known  to  venture  as  far  north 
as  the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude  until  about  ten  years  since, 
yet  his  families  are  now  as  numerous  on  our  coast  as  are  those 
of  most  other  estuary  fishes.  He  is  coy  and  careful,  slow  to 
make  acquaintance,  and  doubtful  of  a  squid  or  baited  hook. 


Beauty  Unadoened.  127 

A  select  family  of  the  mackerel  tribes,  he  is  not  yet  fully  un- 
derstood by  either  amateurs  or  fishermen,  and  commands  a 
higher  price  than  salmon  in  the  markets.  Apart  from  being 
the  greatest  beauty  that  swims,  he  is  undoubtedly  the  best 
fish  for  the  gridiron  to  be  found  in  the  waters  of  either  hem- 
isphere. 


The  Spanish  Mackerel. 

My  experience  in  trolling  for  the  Spanish  mackerel  off  the 
inlets  of  Fire  Island  has  convinced  me  that  the  fish  is  as  nu- 
merous as  the  bluefish,  more  so  than  the  striped  bass  at  cer- 
tain seasons,  and  a  little  farther  seaward  than  either  of  those 
fishes.  The  striped  bass  is  the  fish  which  ventures  nearest 
shore ;  the  bluefish  feeds  in  a  range  farther  from  shore,  and 
the  Spanish  mackerel  feeds  farther  from  shore  than  either, 
excejit  the  large  bluefish  at  the  last  of  the  season.  Every 
year  the  shoals  of  Spanish  mackerel  become  more  numerous, 
and  more  are  taken,  but  never  in  suflicient  numbers  to  reduce 
the  average  price  below  sixty  cents  per  pound. 

The  shoals  which  I  saw,  when  last  trolling  for  them,  would 
have  formed  an  area  of  nearly  five  miles  square,  and  still  the 
most  successful  boat  did  not  take  more  than  a  dozen  in  three 
days.  He  will  not  bite  freely  at  any  artificial  lure,  and 
though  numbers  came  near  leaping  on  the  deck  of  our  yacht, 
they  treated  our  lures  with  an  indifference  which  savored  of 
perverseness.  "  Oh  !"  thought  I, "  how  I  would  like  to  be  an- 
chored in  a  small  boat,  and  still-bait  for  you  with  a  pearl 
squid,  a  shiner,  or  a  gar-eel !"  But  the  difficulty  was  that 
their  favorite  feeding-groiJhds  seemed  to  be  just  beyond  the 
verge  of  anchorage  for  a  row-boat.  This  fish  is  eminently 
shy  of  all  kinds  of  nets,  and,  when  a  shoal  is  surrounded  by  a 


128  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

shir-net  or  seine,  will  point  their  heads  down  in  the  bottom  of 
sand  or  weeds,  and  the  nets  glide  over  their  backs  without 
capturing  one.  Two  intelligent  fishermen  of  the  south  side 
of  Long  Island,  men  well  learned  in  their  trade,  and  who 
have  for  many  years  followed  fishing  successfully,  concluded 
that  they  would  turn  their  exclusive  attention  to  the  Spanish 
mackerel,  and,  by  studying  their  habits  and  watching  their 
movements,  invent  some  plan  for  their  capture,  and  thus  en- 
rich themselves.  They  persevered  for  three  years,  trying  all 
sorts  of  artificial  lures,  differently  constructed  nets  and  fykes, 
set  in  different  ways,  besides  employing  the  Spanish  casting- 
net  ;  but  their  patience  became  so  exhausted  that  they  re- 
linquished the  enterprise,  and  had  learned  to  look  at  a  shoal 
leaping  so  that  thousands  were  above  the  wave  at  a  time 
without  causing  the  slightest  emotion  or  sensation  of  either 
hope  or  fear.  A  few  silly  fish  occasionally  stray  away  from 
their  shoal,  and  are  found  in  a  fyke  or  pound,  and  an  occasion- 
al one  hooks  himself  by  indulging  a  dangerous  curiosity ;  but 
the  genius  who  will  invent  a  successful  method  for  taking 
the  Spanish  mackerel  may  be  as  sure  of  a  fortune  as  the  person 
who  owns  a  goose  which  lays  a  large  egg  of  gold  every  day. 
The  Spanish  mackerel  is  much  more  beautiful  than  th€ 
dolphin,  even  when  the  latter  is  dying.  Its  back  and  sides, 
down  to  the  corrugated  lateral  line,  are  dark  blue,  shot  with 
purple  and  gold ;  below  the  line  it  is  pink  and  gold  for  a 
short  way,  terminating  in  a  white  belly.  The  shaded  parts 
of  the  body  are  ornamented  with  spots  of  gold,  like  new  gold 
dollars,  to  the  number  of  between*  twenty  and  thirty.  Its 
scales  are  imperceptible  to  the  naked  eye,  but  they  extend  a 
short  way  up  the  fins  also.  The  first  dorsal  is  spinous-rayed, 
and  the  first  rays  of  the  second  dorsal  and  pectoral  are  spin- 
ous ;  all  the  rest  are  soft,  though  the  tail  and  anal  fins  are 
nearly  rigid  or  set,  and  do  not  fall  together  or  close  like  those 
of  the  common  mackerel.  There  is  a  small  adipose  fin  on 
each  side  extending  from  the  tail  three  inches  upward..  Its 
head  is  a  perfect  cut-water,  carved  most  artistically,  and  small 


The  Breakfast  Luxury  of  the  Age.  129 

in  proportion.  Its  jaws  are  armed  with  small,  fine  teeth,  that 
laugh  at  silk  or  linen  reel-lines;  gills  of  two  rigidly  resisting 
plies ;  meat  white,  but  neither  mealy  nor  flaky,  though  of 
close  texture,  creamy  and  peculiarly  delicate,  of  most  deli- 
cious flavor. 

The  Spanish  mackerel  is  seldom  taken  with  rod  and  reel, 
though  small  ones  of  from  three  to  six  pounds  sometimes 
venture  to  taste  a  baited  hook.  I  have  taken  two  while 
angling  for  striped  bass  with  shedder  crab  bait ;  but  it  is  em- 
inently a  fish  for  the  troll,  if  captivating  trolls  can  be  invent- 
ed. These  fish  surround  a  shoal  of  gar-eels,  butter-fish,  shin- 
ers, spearing,  or  young  menhaden,  when  the  tiny  baits — anx- 
ious to  escape — rise  to  the  surface,  followed  by  the  Spanish 
mackerel,  which  may  be  seen  two  miles  distant,  leaping,  a 
thousand  at  a  time,  their  forked  tails  conspicuous,  and  their 
bodies  gleaming  like  miniature  rainbows.  The  bite  of  a  Span- 
ish mackerel  is  very  different  from  that  of  a  bluefish.  It  is 
not  so  dashing  or  strong  ;  and  when  hooked,  it  swims  deeper, 
and  does  not  resist  so  pertinaciously.  In  size  it  ranges  from 
three  to  fifteen  pounds.  It  is  often  reported  as  having  been 
taken  of  thirty  pounds' weight,  but  this,  I  think,  is  an  error. 
The  bonetta  is  very  like  it  in  outline,  and  it  is  also  a  compar- 
ative stranger  along  our  coast ;  one  of  these  fish  was  recently 
taken  in  Jamaica  Bay  which  weighed  about  thirty  pounds, 
and  the  daily  papers  noticed  it  as  a  large  Spanish  mackerel ; 
but  the  bonetta — as  a  food  fish — is  vastly  inferior. 

Both  the  Spanish  mackerel  and  cero  are  spring-spawning 
fishes,  and  no  doubt  spawn  in  our  bays,  for  there  are  occa- 
sionally small  ones  taken  by  the  angler  in  June,  before  the 
large  ones  visit  our  shores,  and  I  argue,  therefore,  that  the 
small  half-pounders  are  of  last  year's  hatch. 

Spanish  mackerel  and  large  bluefish  shoal  together  while 
feeding,  and  woe  be  it  to  any  soft-rayed  herbivorous  beauty 
that  crosses  their  path.  Bluefish  and  striped  bass  feed  to- 
gether also,  but  the  bass  swims  deeper  than  the  bluefish,  and 
generally  nearer  shore.    This  is  frequently  proven  while  cast- 

I 


130  Fishing  in  Aheeican  Waters. 

ing  for  striped  bass ;  for  if  the  cast  be  made  beyond  a  certain 
range,  the  angler  is  sure  of  a  bluefish,  if  any  thing. 

I  have  here  roughly  sketched  a  part  of  a  shoal  of  Spanish 
mackerel  feeding.     To  troll  with  hope  of  success  for  these 


f 


Klf 


Spanish  Mackerel  Feeding. 

delicacies,  employ  a  light,  swift-sailing  craft,  and  rig  it  with 
a  long  outrigger  On  each  side ;  for  a  heavy  vessel  cleaving  a 
shoal  disperses  the  live  bait  on  which  they  are  feeding,  and 
the  fright  causes  the  shoal  to  settle  without  biting.  Fre- 
quently have  I  trolled  through  a  shoal  of  thousands,  with 
hundreds  in  sight  all  the  time,  and  as  the  craft  passed  through 
and  got  far  enough  from  the  shoal  to  tell,  I  have  felt  the  bite, 
and,  while  drawing  the  fish  in,  have  commented  upoi\  the  ease 
of  detecting  the  difference  between  the  Spanish  mackerel  on 
my  troll  from  the  hard-mouthed  bluefish,  only  to  be  laughed 
at  a.  moment  afterward  as  I  landed  a  bluefish  in  the  boat. 
Said  I, "  This  is,  of  course,  a  Spanish  mackerel ;  any  novice 
might  distinguish  him  by  his  bite ;  and  then  he  comes  in  so 
gently,  but  swims  low."  I  can  detect  by  the  bite,  when  still- 
baiting,  almost  any  kind  of  estuary  fish ;  but  in  trolling  any 
angler  is  liable  to  be  deceived. 

From  the  limited  experience  thus  far  gained  by  using 


Curious  Fancy  of  Fishes. 


131 


bright  metal  trolls,  not  one  Spanish  mackerel  in  ten  thousand 
will  pay  the  least  regard  to  them.  Having  ascertained  that 
they  feed  on  several  kinds  of  fishes,  the  squid-makers  have 
recently  obtained  some  data  to  work  from,  and  the  following 
are  the  latest  and  most  captivating  samples. 


^*§^^^^^ 


Spanish  Mackerel  Squids. 

A.  Artificial  squid  or  bait,  made  of  Britannia  metal,  block  tin, 
or  German  silver.  The  hooks  of  all  trolls  should  be  tinned 
or  silver-plated.  The  shank  of  the  hook  extends  through 
the  squid,  and  forms  an  eye  to  attach  a  trolling-line.  Feath- 
ers extend  beyond  the  bend  of  the  hook  to  form  the  tail 
of  the  gar-eel.  The  form  of  the  squid  is  tapering,  cylin- 
drical, and  about  five  inches  long  exclusive  of  the  hook.  It 
should  be  kept  polished  as  bright  as  possible,  and  is  a  very 
taking  lure.  A  tail  of  red  ibis  feathers  would  probably  be 
the  most  attractive. 

B.  Squid  as  bright  as  polished  silver,  inlaid  with  pieces  of 
pearl,  and  intended  to  represent  a  sea  -  shiner,  about  five 
inches  long  besides  the  hook.  The  line  is  attached  by  a 
hole  in  the  end,  and  at  the  other  there  are  several  small 
feathers  from  the  red  ibis.  The  shape  of  the  body  is  half 
as  thick  as  it  is  wide,  and  in  order  to  render  if  as  ponder- 
ous as  possible  for  its  size,  it  is  best  to  cast  it  of  lead  over 
the  hook,  then  plate  it  with  copper,  and  plate  or  wash  it 
with  silver.  Spanish  mackerel  do  not  generally  feed  on 
fish  as  large  as  the  bluefish  bait,  and  it  is  therefore  impor- 


132  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

tant  to  have  a  small  but  ponderous  bait  attached  to  a  fifty- 
yard  line  of  the  smallest  size  for  trolling.     The  jaw  of  the 
Spanish  mackerel  is  tender,  therefore  he  plays  more  gin- 
gerly, and  does  not  resist  so  hard  in  landing  as  does  the 
bluefish ;  but  he  should  be  handled  carefully,  and  prevent- 
ed from  taking  slack  line,  as  he  unhooks  easily. 
My  opinion  is  that  this  fish  will  yet  be  taken  in  great  num- 
bers with  rod  and  reel.     As  they  annually  become  more  nu- 
merous, they  come  farther  into  the  estuaries  and  back-sets 
from  the  bays  along  the  coast,  and  after  they  get  a  taste  of 
shedder  and  soft-shell  crab,  with  smelt  in  abundance,  and  a 
modicum  of  spearing  and  shrimp,  they  will  soon  make  them- 
selves more  familiar,  and  accept  the  dainties  ofiered  on  the 
angler's  hook ;  and  when-once  fairly  converted,  he  will  afibrd 
the  angler  better  sport  than  the  salmon  or  the  striped  bass. 

SECTION  ELEVENTH. 

THE    BONETTA,  OR   BONITO. 

The  bonetta  is  the  beautiful  and  swift  fish  after  which  one 
of  our  war  vessels  of  the  Revolution  was  named.  The  Span- 
ish name  is  bonito.  I  prefer  the  other  name  because  of  its 
associations.  This  fish  is  found  in  great  numbers  about  the 
West  India  Islands,  where  it  preys  on  the  flying-fish.  His 
first  arrival  along  our  beaches  and  in  our  bays  was  about 
eight  years  ago,  and  his  shoals  have  increased  remarkably 
fast  ever  since  his  advent.  As  a  table  luxury  it  ranks  with 
epicures  below  the  striped  bass  and  bluefish,  but  because  of 
its  comparative  rarity  it  commands  a  price  rather  above 


The  Bonetta,  or  Bonito. — Thynnus  pelamys. — Cuvier. 


Loves  Flying-fish,  laughs  at  Tkolls.  133 

either.  The  numbers  of  this  fish  annually  taken  about  the 
approaches  to  our  harbors  with  the  troll  and  in  nets  increase, 
so  that  it  bids  fair  to  become  nearly  as  numerous  as  the  blue- 
fish.  Of  the  shoals  which  venture  along  the  shores  of  beaches 
or  breakwaters,  the  fish  range  in  weight  from  five  to  fifteen 
pounds,  while  farther  south  they  are  said  to  attain  to  the 
weight  of  nearly  a  hundred. 

The  menhaden  of  our  shores  form  the  leading  attraction  to 
the  food-fishes  of  the  troll,  and  they  are  so  prolific  that,  if  they 
can  be  protected  against  oily  speculators,  there  will  be  no 
danger  of  our  losing  entirely  any  of  the  large  food-fishes  of 
the  coast. 

The  bonetta  is  very  beautiful,  having  a  dark  greenish-blue 
back,  which  lightens  to  midsides,  and  terminates  in  a  satiny 
white  belly.  The  diagonal  rays  are  nearly  black,  and  extend 
a  little  below  the  sinuous  lateral  line.  The  first  dorsal  is 
spinous,  as  are  .the  first  rays  of  the  second  dorsal  and  pecto- 
ral. The  tail  is  frajned  by  two  spinous  rays,  and  never  closes. 
The  anal  fin  is  also  rigid.  There  is  an  adipose  fin  about  three 
inches  long  from  the  tail  up  the  lateral  line,  as  on  the  Spanish 
mackerel  and  cero.  The  mouth  is  armed  with  teeth  both 
strong  and  sharp.  The  tufts  of  fins  from  the  second  dorsal 
and  anal  to  the  tail  add  to  its  superior  means  of  propulsion, 
and  its  shape,  being  perfectly  adapted  to  cleaving  the  waters, 
prove  it  to  be  one  of  the  swiftest  fishes  of  the  soundings  and 
harbor  approaches.  Its  scales  are  so  small  as  not  to  be  seen 
without  the  aid  of  glasses.  It  is  usually  taken  on  a  large 
metal  squid  in  trolling  for  bluefish,  and  very  few  have  been 
caught  in  fykes  and  pounds.  It  is  a  very  voracious  fish,  and 
generally  in  good  condition  and  very  gamy.  It  spawns  about 
June  in  our  bays,  but  probably  earlier  in  the  season  farther 
south.  While  angling  in  company  with  Alderman  Dodge, 
last  year,  in  Jamaica  Bay,  he  took  one  which  weighed  less 
than  a  pound,  on  shedder-crab  bait ;  it  was  one  of  a  shoal 
hatched  the  year  previous.  Some  fishing  naturalists  state 
that  it  spawns  about  the  islands  of  the  Western  Archipelago, 


134  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

where  it  is  known  as  the  "  albicore,"  and  comes  to  Northern 
waters  for  recuperation.  Others  suppose  it  to  be  the  "  tunny," 
which  follows  ships  for  the  crumbs  from  the  table,  and  at- 
tains, off  the  coast  of  Spain  and  in  the  Mediterranean,  the 
weight  of  a  thousand  pounds.  I  do  not  believe  the  bonetta 
to  be  similar  to  the  tunny,  but  I  know  that  it  is  called  albi- 
core by  some  Southern  fishermen.  The  fishes  of  our  coast 
and  estuaries  which  I  name  as  belonging  to  the  troll  are  sup- 
posed to  be  of  this  hemisphere,  and  are  spine-rayed  families 
of  the  mackerel  tribes.  I  am  often  surprised  at  the  innocence 
of  intelligent  anglers,  who  do  not  know  a  cero  from  a  Spanish 
mackerel,  nor  the  latter  from  a  bonetta,  or  a  spearing  from  a 
smelt,  and  can  not  distinguish  the  great  Northern  pike  from 
the  maskinonge. 

SECTION  TWELFTH. 


It  is  rather  a  cereus  matter  to  ascertain  the  names  of  such 
fishes  as  ichthyologists  have  left  out  of  their  catalogues;  and 
as  I  make  no  pretensions  of  claiming  this  to  be  a  school-book, 
the  angler  will  please  scan  the  illustrations  which  I  made  per- 
sonally from  the  fishes  of  which  these  are  intended  to  be  true 
copies. 


The  Ceko,  Cerus,  or  Sierra. 
The  cero  is  evidently  a  member  of  one  of  the  mackerel 
tribes,  and  in  esculent  quality  ranks  between  the  Spanish 
mackerel  and  "bonetta.  It  is  a  new  visitant  along  the  shores 
from  Virginia  to  Rhode  Island,  but  it  is  quite  numerous  in 
the  West  Indies.  It  evidently  spawns  in  spring-time;  is 
white-meated ;  ranges  in  weight  from  four  to  twelve  pounds ; 
is  longer  in  proportion  to  its  weight  than  any  other  of  his 


,  The  Estuaey  Sentinel.  135 

mackerel  kindred ;  an  individual  specimen  a  yard  in  length 
weighs  from  six  to  eight  pounds  only.  The  cero  is  of  a  lead- 
en color  on  the  back  and  sides ;  belly  and  belly-fins  white ; 
back  and  sides  sprinkled  thickly  with  black  dots  nearly  the 
size  of  peas.  The  first  dorsal  is  spinous,  as  are  also  the  first 
rays  of  the  pectorals  and  second  dorsal ;  all  the  others  are 
rigid,  but  not  spinous.  The  frame  of  the  tail  is  spinous,  but 
the  tail  is  translucent ;  it  has  an  adipose  fin  each  side  on,  the 
lateral  line  at  the  taU.  Its  jaws  are  armed  with  serrulated 
teeth  which  laugh  at  any  cords  softer  than  copper  wire.  I 
believe  that  none  have  yet  been  taken  with  rod  and  reel, 
though  they  are  said  to  be  very  ravenous  biters  and  ambi- 
tious vaulters,  which  can  leap  much  higher  than  a  salmon. 
They  are  taken  in  increased  numbers  annually  by  persons 
while  trolling  with  common  Britannia  metal  squids  for  blue- 
fish.     This  fish  has  no  apparent  scales. 

THE   HOESE  MACKEREL. 

I  HIS  monster  mackerel  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  "  thynnus^'^  as 
some  members  of  its  family 
weigh  nearly  a  ton;  but  I 
may  be  in  error,  and  the  fish 
may  be  the  head  of  the 
mackerel  tribes,  whose  fam- 
ily commands  the  coast  from 
Nantucket  to  the  Straits  of 
Belle  Isle.  At  Quebec  and 
Gaspe  it  is  called  "Bluefish." 
The  name  may  have  been  de- 
rived from  its  leaden  color, 
and  having  a  head  like  the  New  York  bluefish,  though  its 
body  discloses  a  few  mackerel  marks,  and  its  tail  is  like  that 
of  the  honito.  Wliile  in  Gaspe  I  sketched  the  head  and  tail 
of  a  horse  mackerel  which  had  just  been  harpooned  in  the 
Bay  of  Gaspe  by  Thomas  Morland,  Esq.     The  fish  weighed 


136  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Wate;rs. 

seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  was  nine  feet  in  length,  and 
six  feet  in  circumference.     The  illustration  here  given  is  a 


The  Horse  Mackerel, — Genus  Thtjnnus. 

copy  of  my  sketch  of  the  fish  made  from  still  life.  As  Gaspe 
is  a  great  fishing  port,  the  "  old  salts"  would  have  detected 
this  fish  as  a  tunny,  had  it  been  one.  That  it  is  a  great  deli- 
cacy for  the  table  is  proven  by  its  marketable  value,  which 
nearly  equals,  per  pound,  that  of  the  salmon  in  the  vicinity 
where  both  fishes  are  taken.  It  is  stated  that  this  fish  attains 
to  the  weight  of  two  thousand  pounds,  but  it  is  very  rare  to 
take  one  of  more  than  a  thousand.  This  eight-hundred- 
pounder  towed  the  boat  to  which  the  line  of  the  harpoon 
was  fastened  nearly  five  miles.  They  are  taken,  like  the 
swordfish,  by  sailing  for  them ;  and  when  coming  on  a  shoal, 
or  even  a  single  one,  a  well-aimed  harpoon  is  sent  into  the 
fish  where  its  head  unites  to  the  body,  and  then  the  towing-* 
line  is  manned  carefully,  and  the  fish  tows  the  boat  until  he 
gets  fatigued,  and,  when  in  a  fainting  condition,  the  lance 
bleeds  him  in  the  gills,  and  he  is  towed  alongside  until  his 
powerful  rigid  tail  has  made  its  last  flap ;  then  he  is  raised 
into  the  boat,  a  subject  of  wonder  to  the  amateur.  I  think 
the  horse  mackerel  one  of  the  links  in  the  chain  of  fishes 
whose  head  is  the  tunny,  and  which  rank  as  follows: 'Tunny, 
horse  mackerel,  bonetta,  bluefish,  Spanish  mackerel,  cero, 
winding  up  with  the  common  mackerel,  which — as  the  bar- 
ber said  of  the  baker  when  asked  tp  shave  a  coal-heaver — 
"  is  as  low  as  we  go." 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  conformation  of  the  horse  mackerel 


Habits  of  Fishes  Illustkated. 


137 


that  his  propulsive  power  is  equal- in  proportion  to  that  of 
the  bluefish,  and  so  are  his  teeth.  The  foot  or  hand  of  a  man 
would  stand  no  chance  in  the  jaws  of  this  monster  delicacy. 
Talk  of  the  bad  reputation  of  the  Silurus  glanis  of  the  Dan- 
ube because  portions  of  human  .bodies  have  been  found  in 
their  stomachs !  the  horse  mackerel  would  make  nothing  of 
chopping  up  both  man  and  fish.  This  is  not  a  fisji  for  the 
troll,  or  the  rod  and  reel ;  for  it  is  as  strong  in  proportion  to 
its  weight  as  the  bluefish,  and  it  would  trouble  an  angler-  to 
kill  a  thirty-pound  bluefish,  or  even  take  him  in  by  trolling. 
But  sailing  for  horse  mackerel  is  rare  sport ;  and  I  would  ad- 
vise those  about  New  Bedford  and  Martha's  Vineyard,  who 
delight  so  much  in  sailing  for  and  harpooning  swordfish,  t<  > 
sail  down  about  Nantucket  for  horse  mackerel,  where  they 
are  comparatively  numerous. 

To  conclude :  Having  presented  the  best  samples  of  the 
coast  and  estuaries  for  affording  sport  by  the  recreative  art 
of  angling,  I  will  postpone  for  the  present  the  description  of 
those  commercial  fishes  which  belong  of  right  to  the  harpoon, 
the  net,  and  the  hand-line. 

Pale  student,  who  consumes  the  night 
With  learned  vigils  till  the  light ; 
Merchant,  who  toils  in  city  street 
Through  all  the  summer's  fervid  heat ; 
All  ye  tired  sons  of  gold  and  gain, 
Turn  from  your  weary  tasks  of  i)ain, 
And  haste  to  wood,  and  bay,  and  stream, 
Where  health,  and  joy,  and  sunshine  beam. 


art    Seconb. 


FEESH-WATER    FISHII^G 


FLY    AISTD    BAIT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  POETRY  OF  ANGLING. 
SECTION  FIRST. 


'  The  patient  angler  threads  the  wind- 
ing brook, 
Tempting  the  dainty  trout  with  gilded 

bait; 
And  ever  and  anon,  as  fleecy  clouds 
Pass  o'er  the  sun,  the  fish  voracious 

darts 
From  the  cool  shadows  of  some  mossy 

bank, 
Swallows  the  bait  with  one  convulsiA-e 

act, 
And  learns  too  late  that  death  was  at 

the  feast ; 
While  the  glad  sportsman  feels  the 

sudden  jerk. 
And  plays  his  victim  with  extended 

line. 
Swiftly  he  darts,  and  through  the  glit- 
tering rings 
The  silken  line  is  drawn  with  ringing 

sound. 
Till,  wearied  out  with  struggling  that 

but  serves 
To  drive  the  barbed  weapon  deeper 

still, 
He  seeks  his  quiet  shelter  'neath  the 

bank, 
And  thence  in  triumph  to  the  shore  is 

borne, 
A  prize  that  well  rewards  a  day  of 

toil." 


The  question  has  been  discussed  by  hundreds  of  enlight- 
ened minds,  from  King  Leopold  to  Bill  Kromer — from  men 
highest  in  the  sciences  and  most  exalted  in  the  state,  to  the 
lowest  in  worldly  means  and  position,  as  to  who  can  ade 


142  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

quately  describe  the  pleasures  that  surround  the  angler  V 
The  most  compendious,  truthful,  and  summary  is  contained 
in  the  poetical  exclamation  of  O.  W.  Holmes  in  the  following 
couplet : 

"  Oh !  what  are  the  treasures  we  perish  to  win, 
To  the  first  little  minnow  we  caught  with  a  pin!" 

But  who  can  catalogue  the  pleasures  which  cluster  around 
the  angler's  pursuit  ?  He  pursues  his  avocations  amid  scenes 
of  beauty.  "  It  is  he  who  follows  the  windings  of  the  silver 
river,  and  becomes  acquainted  with  its  course.  He  knows 
the  joyous  leaps  it  takes  down  the  bold  cascade,  and  how  it 
bubbles  rejoicingly  in  its  career  over  the  rapids.  He  knows 
the  solitude  of  its  silent  depths,  and  the  brilliancy  of  its  shal- 
lows. He  is  confined  to  no  season.  He  can  salute  Nature 
when  she  laughs  with  the  budding  flowers,  and  when  her 
breath  is  the  glorious  breath  of  spring.  The  rustling  sedges 
make  music  in  his  ear  when  the  mist  has  rolled  ofl*  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  or  the  dew  been  kissed  from  the  grass  by 
the  sun's  rays."  The  lark  sings  for  him,  and  robin  red-breast, 
with  the  brown  thrush  and  jolly  bobolink,  pipe  and  chirp 
their  mellifluous  notes  along  his  path.  The  gorgeous  king- 
fisher heeds  him  not,  and  the  meadow-hen  seldom  moves  from 
her  nest  as  he  passes.  The  storm  and  the  tempest  scarcely 
hinder  his  sport.  He  throws  the  line  when  ruddy  Autumn 
gilds  the  western  heavens,  and  the  fruit  of  the  year  hangs 
heavy  on  the  bough,  or  waves  in  golden  abundance  'on  the 
uplands.  Even  stern  Winter  does  not  forbid  him  his  enjoy- 
ment. If  he  cares  to  pursue  his  favorite  pastime,  he  may  do 
so  equally  when  the  tall  bulrushes,  wavy  reeds,  and  chestnuts 
rattle  with  December's  winds,  as  when  the  marsh  marigold 
opens  its  big  yellow  eyes  on  an  April  day,  or  the  birds  of  all 
song,  size,  and  feather  congregate  along  the  streams,  and  teter 
on  the  sprays  that  kiss  the  ripples,  while  they  chirp  and  ca- 
vort with  their  mates  on  yonder  side  the  stream.  The  au- 
tumn trolling  season  over,  the  angler  begins  to  think  of  the 
springing  into  life  of  all  nature,  when  again  the  frogs  begin 


Antiquity  of  the  Gentle  Art.  143 

to  croak,  the  trout  to  leap,  the  wild  geese  to  honk,  the  kine 
to  low,  and  material  nature  gushingly  bursts  forth  into  new 
life  and  loveliness.  If  he  is  an  ardent  sportsman,  the  whole 
year  is  before  him.  When  the  trout  in  spring,  the  salmon  in 
summer,  the  striped  bass  in  early  autumn,  and  the  trolling 
for  bluefish,  Spanish  mackerel,  cero,  and  bonetta  wind  up  the 
falling  season,  he  may  hie  to  the  Carolinas  and  Florida,  where 
the  oranges,  amid  labyrinths  of  flowers,  greet  his  senses,  and 
there  troll  for  black  bass  and  angle  for  bream  to  his  heart's 
content. 

"  It  was  always  so  in  the  infancy  of  mankind ;  the  finny 
tribes  were  pursued  by  a  primitive  people  with  as  much  ar- 
dor as  they  are  by  civilized  men  ajt  the  present  time.  Sav- 
age and  cultivated  nations  equally  followed,  either  as  a  busi- 
ness or  as  a  pastime,  the  occupation  of  capturing  fish  with 
a  line  and  hook,  with  or  without  a  rod.  We  find  its  praises 
celebrated  in  ancient  poetry,  and  its  memory  embalmed  in 
holy  writ."  The  rudest  appliances  of  a  savage  life  have  been 
used  to  aid  the  angler  at  his  delightful  task,  and  science  has 
not  disdained  to  aid  the  modern  fisherman  in  his  sport. 
There  are  tribes  who  yet  feshion  fish-hooks  out  of  human  jaw- 
bones, and  the  Saxons  managed  to  snare  fish  with  hooks 
foi-med  of  flint.  Indeed,  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  have  followed 
angling  with  an  energy  and  a  zest  far  beyond  any  other  na- 
tion, not  excepting  the  Chinese,  w^hose  great  perseverance  is 
devoted  rather  to  cultivate  fishes  than  insnare  them.  'We 
know  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  Isles  pursued  it  as  a  prof- 
itable occupation  in  remote  times,  and  we  have  it  on  the  au- 
thority of  the  venerable  Bede  that  the  people  of  Sussex  .were 
at  one  time  preserved  from  famine  by  being  taught  by  Wil- 
fred to  catch  fish.  Among  the  earliest  printed  books  is  one 
on  fishing,  by  Dame  Juliana  Bemers  or  Barnes,  prioress  of 
the  nunnery  of  Sop  well,  near  St.  Alban's.  This  book  was 
printed  in  1496.  The  old  lady  shows  that  if  sport  fails  the 
ambitious  angler,  his  time  is  not  spent  in  vain,  for  has  he  not, 
"  atte  the  leest,  his  holsom  walke,  and  merry  at  his  ease,  a 


144  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

awete  ayre  of  the  swete  sauvoure  of  the  meede  flowres,  that 
makyth  him  hungry ;  he  hereth  the  melodyous  armony  of 
fowles ;  he  seeth  the  young  swannes,  heerons,  ducks,  cotes, 
and  many  other  fowles  with  theyr  brodes ;  whyche  me  sem- 
yth  better  than  all  the  noyse  of  houndys,  the  blastes  of 
horny s,  and  the  scrye  of  fowlis,  that  hunters,  frunkeners,  and 
fowlers  do  make.  And,"  says  the  good  old  lady,  "  if  the  an- 
gler take  fysshe,  surely  their  is  no  man  merier  than  he  is  in 
his  spyryte." 

Angling,  in  modern  times,  is  the  most  refined  of  all  field- 
sports.  If  the  angler  take  a  fish,  he  knows  that  it  is  only  one 
of  a  spawn  of  from  a  thousand  to  many  hundred  thousands, 
and  that  all  shoals  which  can,  prey  on  one  another.  Not  only 
so,  but  the  old  prey  on  their  own  offspring ;  and  from  the 
time  when  the  mother  fish  appears  in  the  spawning-pools, 
there  are  several  milt  fish  waiting  to  gorge  themselves  with 
the  ova  /  and  so,  during  all  stages  of  fishhood,  the  larger  eat 
the  lesser  ones,  and — as  cold-blooded  animals — they  can  not 
be  susceptible  to  an  acute  sense  of  pain.  These  truths  can 
not  be  said  in  favor  of  killing  a  land  animal,  whose  annual 
procreative  increase  never  amounts  to  a  tithe  of  any  individ- 
ual of  the  oviparous  fishes. 

The  innocence  of  angling  is  therefore  a  feature  wiiich  has 
commended  it  to  the  good  of  all  ages.  "  When  bank  and 
meadow  lie  starred  and  enameled  with  flowers ;  when  the 
trill  of  the  song-bird  issues  from  every  thorn ;  when  all  sounds 
and  all  prospects  are  joyous  and  exhilarating,  and  the  cloud 
itself,  sleeping  high  in  the  arch  of  heaven,  is  as  the  honored 
presence  of  some  benevolent  watcher ;"  with  the  soul  toned 
by  the  sights,  sounds,  and  exercise  into  a  state  of  harmony 
with  all  nature,  then  the  angler  realizes  that  the  precious  gift 
lie  enjoys  is 

"  One  of  the  spirits  unwithdi-awn, 

That,  erst  the  fall,  were  charged  to  minister 

To  the  earth's  gladness,  and  continually, 

Out  of  their  ample  and  unfailing  horns, 

To  pre-endow  the  advancing  tracks  of  men. " 


The  Charms  of  Angling.  ^45 

Modern  improvements  in  anglers'  implements,  and  recent 
inventions  in  lures  to  captivate  by  trolling,  have  rendered 
the  angler  of  to-day  very  different  from  the  ancient  dreamy 
fishing  philosopher.  Especially  is  the  difference  from  the 
ancient  angler — as  portrayed  by. good  Izaak  Walton — ob- 
servable in  the  United  States  of  America,  where  an  angler  is 
expected  to  scull  a  boat  with  alacrity  and  pull  an  oar  grace- 
fully, to  sail  a  boat  and  man  a  pair  of  troUing-lines,  to  brave 
the  ocean's  dashing  surf  and  spray,  and,  clad  in  sailor's  garb 
of  water-proof  material,  stand  on  the  rocks  of  the  shore  and 
cast  menhaden  bait  for  striped  bass,  and  play  large  fish  from 
a  stand  where  the  dashing  waves  threaten  continually  to 
wash  him  off. 

The  art  of  angling  has  become  so  rich  in  variety  of  imple- 
ments, so  varied  in  scenes,  so  replete  with  all  the  elements 
for  exercise — as  well  for  the  student  as  for  the  man  of  action 
— as  to  render  it  a  recreation  entirely  satisfactory  to  its  dis- 
ciples, who  believe  that 

"All  pleasures  but  the  angler's  bring 
I'  th'  tail  repentance  like  a  sting." 

Men  of  cultivation  and  natural  gentleness  of  disposition 
have  frequently  been  known  to  indulge  in  the  chase,  and  fol- 
low a  well-trained  dog  with  pleftsure,  though  they  are  often 
known  to  forego  these  for  angling ;  but  there  was  never,  a 
true  angler  known  to  exchange  his  gentle  wand,  his  quiet 
rambles  among  the  most  charming  haunts  of  nature,  for  any 
other  means  of  recreation. 

"  Bear  lightly  on  their  foreheads,  Time  I 
Strew  roses  on  their  way ; 
The  young  in  heart,  however  old, 
That  prize  the  present  day. 

"  I  love  to  see  a  man  forget 

His  blood  is  growing  cold, 
And  leap,  or  swim,  or  gather  flowers, 

Oblivious  of  his  gold. 
And  mix  with  children  in  their  sport. 

Nor  think  that  he  is»old.    " 

K 


lJ6  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

"  I  love  to  see  the  man  of  care 
Take  pleasure  in  a  toy ; 
I  love  to  see  him  row  or  ride, 

And  tread  the  grass  with  joy, 
Or  throw  the  circling  salmon  fly 
As  lusty  as  a  boy. 

"The  road  of  life  is  hard  enough, 

Bestrewn  with  slag  and  thorn  \ 
I  would  not  mock  the  simplest  joy 

That  made  it  less  forlorn,  , 

But  fill  its  evening  path  with  flowers 

As  fresh  as  those  of  morn." 

SECTION  SECOND. 

THE     BROOK     TROUT. 

Where  the  tangled  willowy  thickets  lave 
Their  -drooping  tassels  within  the  wave, 
There  lies  a  deep  and  darkened  pool, 
Whose  waters  are  crystal  clear  and  cool. 
It  is  fed  by  many  a  gurgling  fount. 
That  trickles  from  upland  pasture  and  mount, 
And  when  the  deep  shadows  fall  dense  and  dim, 
The  speckled  trout  delight  to  swim. 

The  illustration  on  the  opposite  page  is  a  copy  of  a  trout 
drawn  by  Walter  M.  Brackett,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  as  a  contribu- 
tion to  this  work.  Of  his  gifts  and  inspirations,  it  is  difficult 
to  decide  whether  he  draw^rout  best  with  a  fly-rod  or  a  pen- 
cil He  is  authority  for  either,  and  in  painting  fishes  has  no 
superior. 

This  book — not  being  especially  devoted  to  ichthyology — 
could  scarcely  be  improved  by  giving  the  geiius  and  family 
of  each  separate  fish  of  which  it  treats ;  but  as  the  heading 
indicates  that  the  brook  trout  belongs  to  the  genus  Salmo,  I 
will  add  that  it  is  still  questionable  with  some  ichthyologists 
whether  the  trout  is  not  the  head  of  the  genus,  and  the  sal- 
mon belongs  to  the  genus  Trutta,  or  the  trc^ut  is  distinct  from 
the  genus  Salmo.  Pliny  confounded 'them,  and  the  difierent 
members  of  the  genus  Salmo  were  never  assigned,  their  posi- 
tion by  the  aid  of  science  until  within  the  present  century. 

The  scales  of  the  trout  are  imperceptible  to  the  naked  eye; 


A  Thing  of  Beauty  without  Alloy.  At 


The  Brook  Trout. — Salmo fontinalis. 

all  its  fins  are  soft-rayed  except  the  second  dorsal,  which  is 
adipose ;  its  caudal  fin,  or  tail,  is  nearly  straight  across  the 
end,  contradistinguished  from  the  other  families  of  the  genus^ 
including  lake  trout.  Its  meat  is  generally  pinky  or  salmon- 
colored,  and  of  all  the  shades  between  pink  and  white,  the 
mallow-colored  trout  is  preferred  for  perfection  ofgoUt.  The 
meat  laminates  in  flakes,  and,  when  in  best  condition,  there  is 
a  curd-like  leaf  of  creamy  succulency  between*  each  flake. 
Trout  taken  in  streams  which  empty  into  tide-waters  are 
usually  in  best  condition,  because  their  food  consists  of  smelt, 
spearing,  shrimp,  herring  roe,  roes  of  other  fishes  and  their 
alevins,  in  addition  to  their  desserts  of  flies  to  render  them 
more  delicate,  to  say  nothing  of  ground  bait  driven  down  the 
stream  by  freshets,  and  from  which  our  Beau  Brummels  of 
the  estuary  turji  aside  their  beautiful  noses.  Streams  backed 
by  saline  tides  are  not  often  impregnated  by  the  debris  car- 
ried down  with  the  floods  or  by  any  foreign  substance ;  hence 
New  Yorkers  regard  Long  Island  trout  as  the  best,  while  Bos- 
tonians  consider  the  Marshfield  trout  as  the  ne  plus  ultra. 
Though  I  accord  a  preference  to  trout  which  have  access  to 
tide- waters,  those  of  mountain  streams  are  better  than  any 
pond  trout.  Writers  upon  angling  mention  many  families 
of  the  brook  trout ;  there  are  doubtless  very  many,  but  in  the 
United  States  I  know  of  but  few.  A  marked  peculiarity  is 
observable  in  the  trout  of  the  Umbagog  range  of  lakes:  and 


its  FiwiiNu  in  Amkuiuan  Watkich. 

rivcrR,  in  the  State  of  Maine?,  wIiomo  fins  aro  })r)nl<T(!<l  on  oru 
Hid(5  with  a  ray  of  pure  whiU;;  i*ut  I  know  of*  nono  whi<li 
are  not  definable  as  J^atmo  fontinalu,  diflcrin^  only  in  quali- 
ty and  tuiiniportant  superficial  marks,  /y^cncrully  cauHcd  \>y 
the  di»tin(!tiv(!  properties  of  the  waters  which  vmh  family  in 
habits.  Thus  the  black-mouthed  trout  of  the  swampy  forcsi 
would  soon  become  assimilated  to  the  trout  of  the  sulino  ch 
tuarios  were  they  transported  thither.  Upon  this  subject 
permit  mo  to  quote  from  Thomas  Tod  Stoddart,  a  very  higli 
authority : 

"  Of  the  food  and  habits  of  trout  I  have  said  comparative 
ly  little ;  nor  have  I  called  direct  attention  to  what  may  be 
termed  the  cross-breeds,  in  contradistinction  to  the  true  or 
original  breed  peculiar  to  each  stream  or  lake.  ♦  ♦  *  * 
I  may  notice  that  the  cross-breeds  to  which  I  refer  are  simply 
those  \yhich  have  their  origin  in  the  different  varieties  of  i  Ik 
common  trout  brought  into  contact  with  each  other  at  tin 
breeding  season,  and  do  not  implicate  the  questionable  prod 
uce,  or  mule  breed,  arising  from  any  haphazard  connection  be- 
tween thofario  and  bull  trout,  or  whitllng,  a  connection  al- 
together discountenanced  by  nature,  and  not  likely  to  take 
place.  I  may  also  remark  that,  although  cross  varieties  may 
for  a  season,  or  term  of  seasons,  rival  in  number  the  tru( 
breed  belonging  to  this  or  that  stream,  and  threaten  to  ex- 
tinguish it  altogether,  yet  there  is  no  fear  or  likelihood  of* 
such  a  result,  the  peculiar  nature  and  qualitit^s  of  the  water, 
aided  by  the  remaining  original  stock,  always  tending  to  re 
instate;  the  breed."  This  is  merely  reasserting  that  the  (pial 
ities  of*  the  water  tknd/ced  will  govern  and  regulati;  tlx;  r<dor 
and  quality  of  all  trout  of  the  same  breed,  whether /on^m^^e* 
tyvfario. 

The  speckled  beauty  known  as  the  brook  trout  Jias  been 
an  exhaustless  tluimo  for  pastoral  poets  of  all  agtis.  It  has 
affordcrl  rccreMtion  for  thousands  of  years  to  most  of  tlie  lov- 
«?rs  of  nature  tliroui^liout  the  temperate  zone  of  the  north(!rn 
hemispheres.     Tin*  old  and  young,  the  learned  and  ignorant. 


ih<«  poor  jiM'l  n<;li  >ill  chnnun^  rti<«*«,  ft>|i1  «orMljtJon«<,  lj«v<«  m 
)oy»Mi  flit?  >»pori  orurjglifij^  for  (rout,  U  |MmM)l>ly  ifrtlU  ihnU 
nunt*  im^i  and  *JUd|>liw«  ^pfhtfiU  mUul  nmi  body  to  nntatem' 
fully  iiivt'Mt  ttml  pr»*)»«»it  U»«  lur«M  irio^f  <'«f>ilvrtl)ti^  to  H  ihttii 
to  uny  ofhi'r  i'rfmhwfUvr  iUU,  Alihouj^h  Uii*  brook  tfotit  in 
\irn\ffi\t\y  tho  »kM  mmwroun  tpfttW  iJi«  j^itrnii  fUh«#,  mftntntfi^Ui 
lor  by  iJm'  ti[r«'«M'«*i  monWr  of  con*  '  'ivm  phllimopfmrw, 
y»'t  it  oiay  b«'  «n^l«'4  for  with  ih«  <;*  -  '  t^M'kb*,  aw\  with 

a  willow  wttwcl  mii  by  tb«  wlib*  of  my  nirmttif  or  It  max  *M' 
f'  I '  I  Tor  with  rt  \«*ry  «lttbor^t«  i*pfmmtM>*,  Jtrul  bi  «lib«'  tJiMW' 
'1("m|  ififouioM  »j/oH., 

Tb«  cJor>»f«oii  iroiii  l»  th«  niAmixtfH  uport  of  th«  i*nthM«lA*»tli' 
itii/tcr,    Im  mniiy  (^otintrit'M  thf«  trofii  tnul  ^ttlmon  nrt*  tho  only 

MM'tit^  of^nfm^  HmIm'm  whi^'h  iot^'r^'Mt  i\mtiu^U'r\  mu]  whilf 
=»>ibiiori  fl»»hlrij(  rrwy  b«  JtJ<*tly  r«*««rdif4  »«  th«  hlj<fi*'*»t  brtt««fi 
of  fr^«*h'W«tvr  x|w>rt,  yot  it  Unn  Wri  J««f'y  »«i'J  *'y  l^rtt««l#» 
I'noM^i*  thui,  **tt  Koo<l  troi»t^i»h**r  will  r'H^ily  bi*<;orri«  nu  CX' 
fM*rt  ttt  ntiUium4\nUUin '^  but  »  v«ry  fe«p«*'tttbl«  |/rfM.'titloti«r 
wiilt  iii<  ;il(noM'ro<l  will  ofWi  hAv«f  AJl  hi«(  M«'hooliti((  to  tUt 
tifri^li, :)»'/'. M  hM  tUm'trnd  in  trout  flshifii/,  \it^ihr"  Itt*  *'nu  frtk" 
rttiik  ttit  II  mmisr  of  tfio  art 

Ihit  it  U  U'h  Uf  th**  Amt^runii  nttijt^i'r  to  «'rij'/j  W»M?4'  ri«irn»'r 

ou«»  ttr^J  v«rjo«i«<  r*'>»*/Mrc'4'*i  tttn\t*tn  »o<koown  Ut  th*f  Kurofw'ttn, 
Our  h\iU'M  hnm  nrti  m*tir\y  am  tiigh  i^ttoiw  »!» tfi*.*  wibnori,  whib' 
«am»'  '  '  ''M  nir\\Hu\  hmn  hij<;h*'r,  oot  Ui  mm*  iUt*  ftiU(*r  va 
rK't>'  '»«<  tor  t\w  ro<l  tthd  th**  troll,  whl^^h  nUoni  Ut  myr 

Ui^U  tiUmn  fmr  etpwHn^  md  in  ih«  (^niHArif»n  (ft  UmnmfirMe  rfv' 

AifiMt t Ut*  f»m\ntiiUmn  of  »ll  otb«r  finh^^  ihv 

mm*\  »i4fitk#  iitt  |>b*«*fir»bb*  mmUimphiUm  (tfih(*.  \frmk  irmt 
lh#««p<'  '\i*\U'fiU*^tiw\  ytd  n4p  tifiUiUt,     Kvtm  iUt*  rttn^ 

iU',  i»  tfm  •  >rMmioftt<bJr**«H»  by  folio wiot( «  trout  «*tr**ttio 

witf*  hi«  mh  wftmJ/    Tfmitirii^  l«  ««  MtUrnf  ttwi  mth^mni 
'    '        '«  Ut  «11  «bi«*>wHt  ttod  ^'ooHltiorw  ttfitmt  atwl 
)fwb*?»  ftl««y.     It  mtifii  iU$mtf^nrti  U*  U^^ff*«^A 
with  tt  unmi  v»Hitiy  </f  ifkftM^ti^  ini^Ml^l  t^*  «rif»t**  r*ffirw«J 


150  Fishing  m  American  Watees. 

emotions  of  pleasure  tiO  the  best  minds ;  and  while  much  of 
it  is  due  to  the  incomparable  beauty  and  superior  qualities  of 
the  fish,  yet  his  habits  and  attributes  command  unmixed  ad- 
miration. "  He  is  an  intellectual  kind  of  creature,  and  has 
evidently  a  will  of  his  own.  He  looks  sagacious  and  intelli- 
gent— sedulously  avoids  thick,  troubled,  and  muddy  waters 
— prefers  the  clear  spring  stream — displays  an  ardent  ambi- 
tion to  explore  streams  to  their  source-^is  quick,  vigorous, 
and  elegant  in  his  movements — likes  to  have  the  exclusive 
command  of  the  stream — keeps  up  a  rigid  system  of  order 
and  discipline  in  the  little  community  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber— exhibits  a  remarkable  degree  of  nicety  and  fastidious- 
ness about  his  food — is  comparatively  free  from  vulgar,  low, 
and  groveling  habits — entices  his  pursuer  into  the  loveliest 
scenes  of  Nature's  domains — calls  forth  from  man  his  utmost 
ingenuity  and  skill — and,  in-  a  word,  in  every  stage  of  his  ex- 
istence preserves  a  dignified  demeanor,  unattainable  by  any 
other  living  occupant  of  the  streams. 

"While  these  may  be  styled  his  social  and  intellectual 
qualities,  his  physical  constitution  is  e(]^ually  entitled  to  our 
respectful  consideration.  He  discloses  a  prepossessing  and 
fascinating  figure,  moulded  in  strict  conformity  with  most 
refined  principles  of  symmetrical  proportion,  sparkles  in  all 
the  gorgeous  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  occuiDies  a  distin- 
guished position  in  the  important  science  of  gastronomy." 

Reasons  which  combine  to  establish  so  high  an  estimate  in 
the  regard  of  anglers  are  connected  with  the  idea  that  the 
amber  beauty  is  gifted  with  rnind^  for  in  every  thing  which 
claims  human  attention,  mind,  real  or  imaginary,  in  the  object 
is  necessary  to  attract  our  serious  notice  and  to  secure  our 
lasting  esteem. 

Once  nearly  every  stream  in  the  Middle,  Northern,  and 
Eastern  States  teemed  with  both  trout  and  salmon.  The 
salmon  have  been  driven  away,  and,  had  not  anglers  inter- 
fered to  save  the  trout,  the  luxury  would  now  only  be  known 
from  books  and  the  stories  of  the  oldest  inhabitants.     As  it 


Make  effective  Game-laws.  151 

is,  the  trout  streams  have  been  so  depleted  aud  thinned  of 
their  most  attractive  beauty  that  restocking  by  artificial 
means  has  been  found  necessary  as  a  last  resort. 

Before  addressing  myself  to  the  task  of  describing  the  ar- 
tistic means  for  capturing  this  beauty  of  the  brook,  it  should 
be  known  that  it  is  not  lawful  to  take  trout  in  the  State  of 
New  York  by  any  other  means  than  with  the  angle  in  fly  and 
bait  fishings.  Considering  the  diminished  numbers  in  our 
best  streams,  and  the  swift-growing  density  of  the  population 
throughout  the  North,  it  is  a  question  of  importance  whether 
this  law  should  not  be  adoj^ted  by  all  the  states  north  and 
east.  The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  are  a  peculiar 
people  in  some  things,  and  in  no  one  element  is  this  more 
patent  thah  in  their  running  on  the  last  idea,  to  the  disregard 
of  all  others.  This  is  eminently  so  in  artificial  fish-culture. 
There  are  many  waters  which  require  protection  only  to  ren- 
der the  increase  of  trout  abundant ;  but  instead  of  protecting 
the  waters  by  proper  legal  enactments,  and  faithfully  carry- 
ing them  out,  some  states  leave  the  waters  to  the  mercy  of 
nets  and  spears.  They  appropriate  sums  of  money  for  prop- 
agating trout,  and  while  the  fish-culturist  is  hatching  trout 
on  the  middle  of  a  stream,  the  mouth  is  being  netted,  and  the 
spawning-grounds  thinned  with  the  spear.  This  is  "  feeding 
at  the  spigot  and  leaking  at  the  bung." 

Game-laws  should  be  enacted  in  each  state  establishing  the 
fence  or  close  seasons  for  game  fish  and  game  animals,  thus 
protecting  them  while  with  young,  while  hatching,  and  until 
they  have  recovered  and  fattened  sufficiently  for  the  table. 
The  legal  season  for  taking  trout  ki  the  State  of  New  York 
is  from  March  until  October,  leaving  six  months  of  the  year 
wherein  it  is  unlawful  to  take  trout  by  any  means.  It  would 
be  well  if  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  could  unite  upon 
a  close  season,  as  it  would  assist  to  prevent  poaching.  Al- 
though I  have  no  key  to  fit  the  humor  of  the  selfish  proprie- 
tor who  would  begrudge  the  laboring  man  his  snatch  of  pleas- 
ure at  this  universal  and  favorite  pastime,  or  limit  him  to 


152 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


Poacher. 


hours  in  a  day's  fishing,  where- 
by he  might  add  a  real  zest  in 
the  way  of  hixurious  variety  to 
his  every-day  fare,  yet  I  would 
second  all  efibrts  to  thwart  the 
poacher,  who  robs  the  streams 
of  their  life  and  beauty  to  sell, 
when  these  waters  are  be- 
queathed to  the  poor  as  well 
as  to  the  rich  as  a  health-giv- 
ing blessing. 


"  Bill  Blossom  was  a  nice  young  man, 
And  drove  the  Bury  coach  ; 
But  bad  companions  were  his  bane,  , 

And  egged  him  on  to  poach. 
' '  Once,  going  to  his  usual  haunts, 
Old  Cheshire  laid  his  plots  ; 
He  got  entrapped  by  legal  Berks, 

And  lost  his  life  in  Notts. " — Hood, 

The  poacher  is  an  unmitigated  scamp  wherever  found.  On 
Long  Island  he  robs  the  streams  by  night  with  fine  silken 
nets,  which  he  conceals  in  a  pocket  or  in  the  crown  of  Jiis  hat 
(if  he  have  one),  and,  knowing  all  the  by-paths  of  the  island 
as  they  meander  among  the  net-work  formed  of  dwarf  pine 
and  scrub  oak,  he  approaches  a  trout  stream  after  midnight. 
There  are  usually  two  poachers  in  company.  They  set  the 
net  across  a  narrow  place  in  the  stream,  and  while  one  at- 
tends to  it,  the  other  drives  in  the  trout.  The  meshes  of  the 
net  are  so  small  that  a  two-ounce  trout  can  not  escape.  Before 
daylight  the  poachers  art  back  at  their  wretched  homes,  and 
those  who  wink  at  the  criijie  purchase  the  fish,  and  send  them 
to  the  New  York  markets.  The  fish  being  m  season,  no  ques- 
tions are  asked.  It  is  diflicult  to  detect  poachers  on  the  isl- 
and, because  proprietors  of  real  estate  and  hotel-keepers  are 
afraid  to  inform  against  these  desperadoes,  lest  they  should, 
in  revenge,  add  arson  to  poaching. 

There  is  not  within  any  settled  portion  of  the  United  States 


Poachers  Rob  all  Classes.  153 

another  piece  of  territory  where  the  trout  streams  are  com- 
paratively so  numerous  and  productive  as  they  are  through- 
out Long  Island.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  travel  a  mile  in 
any  direction  without  crossing  a  trout  stream,  whether  from 
Coney  Island  to  Southampton  on  the  south  side,  or  from 
Newtown  to  Greenport  on  the  north  side ;  and  when  taking 
into  account  the  necessity  for  a  kind  of  recreation  which  shall 
not  be  too  violent  for  the  thousands  of  debilitated  cit^sens 
who  are  pent  up  in  squares  of  brick  and  mortar,  and  engaged 
at  sedentary  occupations,  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  in  dol- 
lars the  value  of  a  recreation  which,  while  it  is  sufficiently 
free,  airy,  and  attractive  to  inflate  the  lungs,  jog  the  biliary 
organs,  and  unbend  the  mind,  is  not  so  difficult  to  pursue  as 
to  prevent  the  most  delicate  in  physique  from  enjoying  it. 
The  value  of  the  Long  Island  trout  streams  to  New  York  City 
is  inestimable,  for  each  one  of  them  is  approachable  by  rail- 
road in  a  few  hours.  In  a  hygienic  sense,  therefore,  they  are 
above  price.  How  deep  must  therefore  be  the  turpitude  of 
the  crime  of  that  vagrant  class  of  vagabonds  who  recklessly 
rob  the  streams  of  their  life,  beauty,  and  means  of  recreation 
to  the  overworked  citizen  who  depends  on  angling  instead 
of  physic  for  restoring  his  waning  health  of  body  and  decreas- 
ing vigor  of  mind ! 

Streams  in  New  Jersey  and  Connecticut,  and  those  west 
of  the  Hudson  to  the  Delaware  Rivers,  and  far  beyond  in  both 
this  state  and  Pennsylvania,  contain  trout,  and  many  of  them 
are  well  stocked.  Indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  stream 
within  a  radius  of  a  hundred  miles  from  the  city  of  New 
York  which  has  not  more  or  less  trout  in  it.  The  paper-mills, 
railroads,  bleaChing-fields,  chemicals  of  acids  an.d  gases,  lime, 
manures,  and  numerous  kinds  of  manufactories  which  cast 
their  choking  and  poisonous  debris  and  filtrations  into  the 
streams,  have  not  proved  sufficient  to  depopulate  them  of 
their  speckled  beauties ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  poacher,  who 
stops  not  at  nets,  spears,  snares  of  singular  device,  killing  the 
trout  by  liming  the  streams  and  poisoning  them  with  coculun 


154  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

indicus^  they  would  still  be  so  numerous  as  to  require  noth- 
ing, toward  propagation  but  protection.  Want  of  moral  rec- 
titude, indolence,  and  greed  make  up  the  modest  sum  total 
of  a  poacher's  character ;  and  the  sooner  the  class  is  forced  to 
work  for  the  state  the  better,  therefore  our  legislators  will 
please  take  note  of  the  true  penalty  for  poaching. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

fly-fishing  for  trout.  * 

"Thin,  o'er  the  wave,  the  quivering  insects  skim, 
And  faintly  dip  their  pinions  on  its  brim. 
Winter  its  power  has  not  yet  resigned, 
.  And  yet,  I  fear,  the  weather  is  unkind. 
But  there,  an  answer  to  that  doubt  receive — 
A  gallant  trout ! — behold  it,  and  believe." 

Here  we  see  the  fly-fisher  wading  a  brook  while  it  rains, 
with  shoulders  protected  by  a  water^proof  cape,  and  extremi- 
ties clad  in  India-rubber  boots,  with  silk  rubber  attached  and 
extending  up  to  the  thighs,  thus  rendering  the  toggery  light, 
and  so  imj)ervious  as  to  keep  the  shoulders  and  feet  of  the 
angler  dry.  The  boy  with  rolled-up  trousers  represents  the 
ancient  angler.  He  quietly  contemplates  and  fishes  in  a 
drenching  rain,  taking  eels,  catfish,  and  chubs  in  the  pool  be- 
low the  beaver-dam,  never  dreaming  of  a  trout,  when  an  ap- 
parition wading  the  stream  surprises  him  as  the  fly-fisher 
casts  his  line,  armed  with  artificial  flies,  quite  over  his  pole, 
and  hooks  a  trout  to  his  great  astonishment. 

Fly-fishing  is  more  indolent  and  elegant  than  bait-fishing. 
From  the  streams  on  the  Styrian  Alps,  eastward  over  Hun- 
gary, and  westward  over  all  the  vast  empire  of  intellectual 
man,  wherever  the  lands  are  divided  by  the  ornamental  tra- 
cery of  trout  streams,  even  to  the  mildly  sublime  Pacific 
Ocean,  fly-fishing  is  regarded  as  an  elegant  accomplishment. 
To  cast  a  fly  gracefully,  so  that  it  will  fall  in  the  right  place 
like  a  snow-flake,  or  light  like  a  winged  insect,  requires  prac- 
tice. The  beginner  should  not  attempt  to  cast  too  long  a 
line.     Let  him  first  try  to  throw  a  line  as  long  as  his  rod,  say 


GUAKD   AGAINST   A    SlACK-LINE    CaST.  155 


Ely-fishixg  for  Trout. 


twelve  feet  of  line ;  then  increase  the  length  as  he  learns  to 
cast  it,  so  that  it  will  lie  straight  on  the  water,  and  a  trout, 
in  attempting  to  taste,  will  be"  sure  to  hook  himself,  because 
there  is  no  slack  line.  This  is  important ;  for  if  the  trout 
strikes  at  a  fly  on  a  slack  line,  he  at  once  becctoes  disgusted 
at  so  lame  an  efibrt  to  deceive,  and  the  slack-line  fisher  will 
never  receive  a  second  visit  from  him.  But  if  you  cast 
a  straight  line,  and  the  trout  misses  the  fly,  he  will  come 


156  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

again,  sometimes  as  many  as  four  times,  before  he  fastens. 
It  is  necessary  that  the  line  be  so  straight  that  a  slight  touch 
will  be  felt  by  the  angler,  and  that  a  responsive  jerk  at  the 
top  of  the  rod  will  be  sure  to  fasten  the  fish.  But  if  the  line 
is  slack,  and  the  trout  happens  to  get  hooked,  he  will  be  like- 
ly to  disgorge  before  the  angler  has  time  to  strike.  Do  not 
be  in  a  hurry  to  lay  out  more  line  than  you  can  cast  straight 
from  the  tip  of  your  rod  to  your  stretcher-fly.  Some  good 
fly-fishers  prefer  to  cast  a  short  line,  because  it  is  so  much 
easier  for  them  to  hook  their  fish  and  play  him.  Especially 
is  this  the  case  when  trout  are  plenty.  On  Long  Island  they 
are  educated ;  but  even  there  do  not  strain  your  nerves  and 
muscles  to  make  a  wide  cast.  Experience  is  the  only  teach- 
er who  will  confer  the  perfection  of  casting. 

So  soon  as  the  angler  learns  to  lay  out  thirty  feet  of  line 
straight/without  a  bend  from  the  tip  of  his  rod,  he  may  count 
himself  a  fly-fisher ;  and  as  he  continues  to  practice  for  im- 
proving in  the  elegance  of  his  casting,  he  will  naturally  ac- 
quire the  habit,  so  that  fifty  or  sixty  feet  casts  will  be  done 
with  perfect  ease,  grace,  and  precision.  Over-hand  and  under 
casts  will  be  his  next  practice,  in  order  to  succeed  in  wading 
a  stream  overhung  with  willows  or  alders,  or  margined  with 
large  trees  whose  wide  projecting  branches  warn  the  angler 
to  beware  lest  he  cast  too  high. 

Many  simple  souls  suppose  angling  an  indolent  pastime ; 
and  Johnson's  plagiarism  from  a  Greek  author  of  "  a  stick 
and  a  *  string,  with  a  fool  at  x>ne  end  and  a  worm  at  the  oth- 
er," helped  to  fix  in  the  minds  of  the  ignorant  the  impression 
which  the  stolen  aphorism  was  intended  to  convey.  Such 
vulgar  witticisms  may  please  the  splenetic ;  they  only  dis- 
gust liberal-minded  men. 

A  word  more  about  the  costume  of  our  model  angler.  The 
color  of  the  dress  should  either  be  gree?i,  to.  blend  with  the 
foliage,  or  gray,  to  harmonize  with  the  shade  of  the  rocks. 
Wading  boots,  with  rubbered  silk  extensions,  are  the  lightest 
and  best,  except,  perhaps,  the  Scotch  wading  stockings,  of 


Trouting  on  Long  Island.  157 

quite  recent  invention,  and  imported  by  our  principal  fishing- 
tackle  houses.  A  cape  of  water-proof  silk  may  be  carried  in 
the  pocket,  and  put  on  as  a  protection  to  the  shoulders  in 
case  of  a  shower,  as  it  is  not  too  warm  and  does  not  impede 
casting. 

Trouting  on  Long  Island  is  the  most  artistic  angling  that 
I  have  ever  seen  practiced,  either  in  Europe  or  America.  The 
trout  there  appear  to  have  learned  to  detect  many  of  the  an- 
gler's artifices.  Fly-fishing  is  there  practiced  near  the  estu- 
aries of  streams,  where  they  are  influenced  by  the  tides,  so 
that  in  flood  tide  the  fisher  begins  below  and  casts  along  as 
the  tide  makes,  as  far  up  the  stream  as  the  trout  feed ;  and 
when  the  tide  turns,  the  angler  fishes  along  down  with  the 
tide  and  the  feeding  fisli.  There  being  little  protection  to 
veil  the  angler  from  the  tenants  of  the  stream,  it  is  necessary 
that  he  keep  far  back  from  the  bank,  which  necessitates  long 
casts,  and  frequently  the  first  intimation  which  the  angler 
receives  of  a^  bite  is  the  gushing  and  slapping  rise  of  the  fis]i, 
and  the  tremulously  nervous  resistance  at  the  end  of  his  line ; 
then  approaches  the  play  and  the  contest,  when  light — but 
finely-constructed — tackle  tells.  Deftly  and  gingerly  arc  the 
words,  for  Long  Island  trout  are  not  to  be  trifled  with.  The 
rod  should  be  permitted  to  do  its  duty,  and  the  angler  be 
neither  impatient  nor  excited.  Anglers  who  have  never  vis- 
ited Long  Island  are  comparatively  innocent  of  the  real  zest 
of  trouting ;  for,  without  being  annoyed  with  stinging  and 
biting  flies,  the  trout  are  as  large  and  as  free  from  rust  or  the 
eflects  of  discolored  waters  as  are  those  of  the  estuaries  on 
the  coast  of  Maine  or  along  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  On 
the  island  they  run  from  a  quarter  to  three  pounds  in  weight, 
sometimes  more,  and  are  in  the  highest  state  of  succulent  ad- 
iposity. The  climate  is  charming,  surroundings  most  invit- 
ing, hotels  where  good  cheer  greets  the  sportsman  through- 
out the  year.  I  love  Long  Island,  and  venerate  its  trout 
streams. 


158  Fishing  in-Amekican  Waters. 

"  Nature  hath  endless  aspects  :  to  the  angler 
She  doth  her  beauties  and  her  glories  all  unfold ; 
A  magic  light  rests  upon  land  and  sea, 
And  aU  her  brooks  are  silver,  all  her  sunshine  gold." 

What  angler's  heart  does  not  beat  more  quickly  at  the 
joyous  announcement  of  the  opening  day  of.  the  t routing 
season  ?  He  will  find,  upon  asking  himself  seriously,  be  he 
rich  or  poor,  learned  or  ignorant,  that  no  announcement  of 
any  other  recroation  so  thrills  his  heart.  The  emotion  caused 
by. the  schgol-master  when  he  used  to  say  "boys  may  go 
out,"  or  "there  will  be  a  vacation  until  next  Monday,"  is 
quadrupled  and  sublimated  by  the  permission  given  from  a 
highet  sphere,  as  if  Heaven  said  "  boys  may  go  out."  Go 
forth  from  your  counting-houses,  your  mephitic  offices,  your 
workshops^  for  it  is  the  opening  day  of  the  trouting  season ! 

"  With  Winter's  frown  let  sadness  cease. 

And  cankering  care, 
And  o'er  the  brow  sweet  smiles  of  peace 

Wreathe  garlands  fair ; 
From  joyous  Nature  catch  the  smile, 
And  every  weary  hour  beguile 

From  care  and  pain — 
Join,  join  with  bird  and  flowing  stream 
In  shouting  forth  the  rapturous  theme, 

'Tis  Spring  again, 

'Tis  Spring  again!" 

Who  can  forget  the  angling  of  old  at  Oba.  Snedicor's  ?  The 
late  Daniel  Webster  used  to  be  there  on  the  opening  day  of 
the  trouting  season,  and  so  did  many  of  our  truly  great  men. 
It  was  there  that  John  Stephens  was  advised  to  sail  his  yacht 
in  the  regatta  in  England,  which  resulted  in  his  winning  the 
race.  But  the  Snedicor  Preserve  is  now  in  different  hands. 
A  close  club  of  wealthy  and  intellectual  sportsmen  own  it, 
and  they  have  rendered  it  worthy  of  its  name,  the  "  South- 
side  Club." 

The  light, 'artistic  character  of  the  fly-fisher's  tackle  proves 
him  a  disciple  of  the  fine  arts,  though  translating  their  sjiirit 
•into  graceful  action. 


Always  Use  the  best  Tackle. 


159 


Trouting  Tackle. 

Numbers  1, 2, 3, 4.  Split  bamboo  tront-rod  and  click  reel.  The  hand-hold  above  the 
reel  is  either  velvet  or  plain  wood.  This  trout-rod  is  eminently  American ;  joints 
and  rings  of  German  silver,  the  rings  gradually  diminishing  in  size  from  butt  to 
top.  A  spliced  top  joint  is  to  be  preferred.  6.  Wicker-basket  with  padlock,  and 
plate  for  owner's  name ;  sliding  shoulder-pad  on  the  strap.  6.  Tin  bait-box,  paint- 
ed, perforated  lid,  and  waist-belt.  The  strap  is  sometimes  so  made  as  to  connect 
with  the  basket-strap,  when  the  box  is  worn  or  left  off,  at  the  option  of  the  wearer. 
In  case  of  connecting  the  bait-strap  with  the  basket-strap,  the  basket  is  supported 
by  the  left  shoulder,  and  the  bait-strap  attaches  at  the  waist,  so  that  the  right  arm 
is  entirely  free  for  casting.  7.  Fly-book  with  leaves  of  Bristol-board,  or  other  stiflF 
material,  to  which  are  attached  short  ends  of  elastic,  with  a  hook  to  attach  a  loop, 
and  a  ring  at  the  other  end  of  the  leaf  for  the  hook.  This  plan  of  carrying  flies 
without  bending  the  gut  was  invented  by  Mr.  Hutchinson,  of  Utica,  New  York,  and 
the  cards  may  either  be  attached  to  the  book  or  laid  in  as  leaves,  so  that  the  angler 
may  merely  take  a  single  leaf  of  selected  flies,  and  place  it  in  his  pocket-book  for  a 
day's  Ashing.  8.  Lanrfing-net.  Rim  of  hollow  brass  wire.  Meshes  large  and  of 
not  too  tine  twine.  Handle  formed  of  two  joints  which  screw  together,  or  made  so 
that  the  joiut  connected  with  the  net  will  slide  Into  the  butt.  The  oval  shape  of 
rim  is  better  than  the  round  one. 


MODERN   SPLICE    FOR   FLY   RODS. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Field  (London),  January  4, 1868, 
described  the  modern  splice,  and  gave  it  his  name  of  the 
"  Robinson  Splice,"  but  since  then  several  contributors  claim 
to  have  used  the  same  splice  many  years ;  and  the  reason  for 
giving  it  to  my  readers  is  that  every  angler,  when  writing 
upon  it,  commends  it.  It  is  generally  used  for  splices  of  sal- 
mon-rods, but  I  can  not  see  why  it  would  not  be  equally  use- 
ful for  splicing  the  top  joint  of  a  trout-rod.  The  following 
is  the  description :  "  The  splice  is  of  the  ordinary  length,  with 
a  small,  thin  rim,  or  flat  ring  of  brass  at  the  thick  end  of  each 


160 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


splice ;  the  thin  end  of  each  splice  fits  so  tightly  into  (under) 
the  brass  rim  or  ring  at  the  thick  end  of  the  other  one  that 
it  will  not  shift  in  the  least  degree ;  a  length  of  waxed  glov- 
er's or  tailor's  thread,  tied  on  at  your  leisure  (for  all  is  hard 
held  to  your  hand  by  the  brass  rings),  completes  the  splice." 


mf^mmMmfmmmmmk 


Numbers  1,  2,  3  present  a  side  view  of  the  splice,  and  4,  5 
a  surface  view.  Of  course  the  ferrules  or  rings  are  fastened 
firmly  on  the  thick  ende  of  each  splice,  and  splice  ends  are 
requisite  after  unjointing  the  rod  for  protecting  the  thin  ends 
of  the  splice  when  thrusting  the  joints  into  a  case  to  carry 
the  rod  after  a  day's  fishing,  or  when  the  angler  desires  to 
pack  his  rod.  That  is, "  corresponding  pieces  of  spliced  wood, 
with  brass  rings  (or  ferrules)  attached,  are  made,  joined  to- 
gether, carried  in  the  pocket,  and  when  the  rod  is  untied  and 
unjointed  they  are  detached  from  each  other,  and  attached 
to  the  spliced  parts  of  the  rod,  to  save  the  splices  from  any 
accident."  This  is  a  precaution  necessary  for  protecting  all 
kinds  of  splices  of  rods. 

In  returning  to  the  general  subject,  the  spring  opens  earlier 
on  the  south.side  of  Long  Island  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
state.  This  is  owing  to  the  island  extending  so  far  into  the 
Atlantic  that  the  Gulf  Stream  mellows  the  air  by  its  warmth, 
lladishes,  celery,  lettuce,  and  sometimes  eschalots,  are  not  un- 
common on  the  1st  of  March,  while  the  martin  and  meadow- 
lark  enliven  the  air,  and  the  robin  is  not  far  behind  in  putting 
in  an  appearance  to  open  the  full  court  of  Spring  ;  and  as  the 
angler  casts  from  the  bank  or  from  a  boat,  all  nature  is  alive. 
The  island  being  in  the  direct  route  for  the  passage  of  wild- 
fowl, the  honking  of  them  high  in  air,  and  the  gunners'  in- 
tonations on  the  bay,  give  a  touch  of  sublimity  and  grand- 
eur which,  when  mingling  with  the  sounds  of  lowing  herds 
and  the  music  of  birds,  brings  heaven  and  earth  together,  and 


Opening  Day  of  the  Troutlng  Season.         161 

ill  a  condition  of  harmony  never  dreamed  of  by  the  care-worn 
racer  after  the  rusty  dollar. 

Persons  who  have  never  practiced  the  angler's  gentle  art 
can  scarcely  appreciate  the  feelings  which  well  up  in  the 
soul  of  an  expert  who  has  studied  nature,  the  habits  of  trout, 
and  the  devices  necessary  to  present  lures  gracefully  for  their 
acceptance.  His  fly-rod  is  twelve  and  a  half  feet  in  length, 
including  a  telling-top  of  split  bamboo.  His  reel  is  a  narrow 
click  one,  upon  which  is  wound  a  braided  line  of  silk  and 
hair,  which  tapers  from  the  middle  to  each  end,  and  is  thirty 
yards  in  length.  A  nine-feet-long  casting-line  is  looped  to  the 
end,  and  with  the  attractions  of  a  cinnamon  fly  as  a  stretch- 
er, a  gray  professor  as  the  first  drop,  and  a  red  ibis  as  the 
hand-fly,  he  feels  sure  that  the  trout  in  the  first  pool  will  leap 
for  joy  at  his  approach.  As  he  walks  over  the  meadows,  sees 
the  birds,  hears  all  nature  waking  into  new  life,  his  Very  step 
upon  the  mead  when  the  grass  is  beginning  to  shoot  confers 
a  sense  of  velvety  elasticity ;  and  as  he  nears  the  stream,  sees 
the  cat-tails  of  the  willows  dip  and  play  on  the  margin  of  the 
ripple,  and  the  trout  rising  and  leaping  after  flies  so  that  they 
cast  miniature  rainbows  over  the  stream,  with  cautious  step 
he  approaches  within  casting  distance  of  the  pool.  He  makes 
a  cast,  and  a  large  trout  meets  his  fly  and  fastens.  For  an  in- 
stant the  angler  is  transfixed  !  The  old  sensation  of  rapture 
returns  with  the  new  spring,  and  as  the  circulation  of  his 
blood  quickens,  he  spontaneously  ejaculates,  "  Well,  this  is 
worth  livincr  for !" 


162 


Fishing  in  America*)  Waters. 


CHAPTER  11. 

FLY-FISHING  ON  MASSAPIQUA  LAKE. 
Fly-pishing  from  boats  or  punts  on  ponds  and  lakes  forms 
a  most  interesting  branch  of  the  art  of  angling.  The  tackle 
is  fine,  and  the  boat  comfortable.  When  the  pond  covers  not 
more  than  fifty  acres,  the  oarsman  rows  across  from  side  to 
side  without  turning  the  boat,  but  merely  changing  his  seat 
and  sculls ;  thus  the  angler,  at  the  bow  when  crossing  first,  is 
at  the  stem  while  returning,  and  the  oarsman  continues  to 
cross  and  recross  the  water  back  and  forth,  with  sufficient  lee- 
way to  prevent  the  water  being  twice  fished  over.  The  an- 
gler must  needs  be  ambidexterous,  for  he  must  change  hands 
every  time  the  water  is  crossed.  On  the  trout  lakes  border- 
ing the  Adirondacks  the  boats  are  very  light,  and  finely  con- 
structed of  narrow  and  thin  cedar  boards,  very  closely  braced 


Fly-fishing  fkom  a  .Boat.  163 

with  small  ribs ;  they  are  clinker  built,  and  about  fourteen 
feet  long  and  four  feet  wide,  and  are  intended  for  one  angler 
and  his  guide.  The  guide  has  a  seat  toward  the  bow,  and 
the  angler  takes  a  seat  near  the  stern,  either  to  troll  or  fly- 
fish.  Between  the  angler  and  guide,  is  a  basket  of  heavy 
splints  and  thick  oaken  cover,  opening  across  the  middle  by 
brass  hinges.  On  the  bottom  of  the  basket  is  placed  a  huge 
lump  of  ice  wrapped  in  a  woolen  blanket,  above  which — or 
half  wray  up  the  basket — is  a  piece  of  canvas,  attached  by 
strings  to  the  basket,  and  fitting  all  round.  The  guide  rows 
along  the  margin  of  the  lake,  and  when  approaching  a  stream 
which  falls  from  the  mountain  into  the  lake,  turns  the  stern 
toward  it  and  backs  the  boat  to  within  casting  distance,  and 
when  the  angler  hooks  a  trout  the  guide  rows  out  away  from 
shore,  where  the  fish  is  played  and  landed  without  alarming 
the  other  fish  of  the  pool.  The  guide  draws  the  fish  at  once, 
throws  it  into  the  basket  on  the  canvas  above  the  ice,  and 
then  backs  the  boat  toward  the  shore  for  the  angler  to  take 
another.  This  is  a  deliberate  way  of  angling,  by  which  the 
pools  at  the  mouth  of  every  brook  are  tendered  the  choice 
of  a  cast  of  flies,  and  yield  their  tithe  as  2)ay  for  their  cruel 
curiosity. 

Lake  Massapiqua,  at  South  Oyster  Bay,  on  Long  Island,  is 
probably  the  best  trout  preserve  in  the  United  States.  It  is 
owned  by  William  Floyd  Jones,  Esq.,  who  is  one  of  the  finest 
samples  of  an  American  gentleman.  The  preserve  covers 
eighty  acres,  and  is  fed  by  a  spring-brook  which  is  seven 
miles  in  length,  and  all  of  it  on  Mr.  Jones's  estate.  This  gen- 
tleman maintains  the  preserve  for  his  exclusive  use  and  that 
of  his  invited  guests,  who  are  the  ardent  disciples  of  the  angle 
and  promoters  of  field-sports.  Not  only  for  his  fish-preserve^ 
and  his  system  of  fish -culture  is  Mr.  Jones  pre-eminent, 
but  as  a  farmer  and  horticulturist,  a  sportsman  of  first-class 
in  all  its  ennobling  features,  from  the  winter  joy  of  following 
the  hounds  to  the  refined  and  contemplative  amusement  of 
casting  the  fly,  he  is  worthy  of  emulation  by  all  who  would 


164:  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

so  dispose  of  the  bounties  with  which  Providence  has  favored 
them  as  that  they  shall  confer  blessings  on  all  classes. 

There,  are  several  reasons  in  favor  of  fly-fishing  from  a  boat 
over  that  of  wading  a  stream,  or  catching  casts  from  streams 
bordered  with  foliage.  It  is  out  on  the  water,  away  from 
shore,  and  free  from  the  danger  of  getting  flies  fast  on  the 
limbs  of  trees  while  casting  or  playing  a  fish.  There  is  room 
to  play  your  fish.  Your  shore  views  are  less  restricted.  Two 
anglers,  in  such  case,  form  the  best  company  possible.  The 
business  of  the  world  may  be  canvassed  while  excellent  sport 
is  enjoyed  amid  the  gushing  music  and  harmony  of  nature. 


SECTION  SECOND. 

now   TO   FISH    A    STREAM. 

"Where  the  robin  carols  loudly — 

Gayly  and  untroubled  sings, 
And  the  lark  is  poised  most  proudly 

On  his  strong,  untiring  wings. 
There  may  I  be  found  each  morning, 

With  my  rod  and  reel  complete, 
Not  a  speckled  beauty  scorning 

In  the  pearly  streams  I  meet. 

* '  Oft  I  pause  to  hear  the  thrushes 
Trilling  out  their  morning  song 
In  those  wild  and  rapturous  gushes 

Which  to  melody  belong. " 
Then  mingled  is  with  song  of  bird, 
The  monotone  of  barn-yard  herd ; 
Anon,  a  flock  of  geese  appears, 
Honking  to  calm  each  other's  fears  ; 
And  as  I  angle  the  streams  along, 
All  the  world  seems  made  of  song. 


Don't  see  it  in  that  Light. 


165 


HITS  we  deftly  cast  the  artifi- 
cial lure  on  the  margin  of  the 
streams,  or  on  the  bosom  of 
lake  or  pond,  whipping,  whip- 
ping, whipping  all  the  day,  and 
playing  trout  till  twilight. 

Questions  in  relation  to  fish- 
ing up  or  down  a  stream 
should  be  decided  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  stream  atid  its 
borders.  While  casting  from 
:  the  shore,  it  makes  very  lit- 
^  tie  difference  which  way  the 
stream  is  fished ;  but  in  wad- 
ing, it  is  best  to  fish  up  stream,  because  it  does,  not  roil  the 
water,  and  there  is  not  so  great  liability  to  alarm  the  fish. 
In  making  a  cast,  it  is  always  best  to  draw  the  flies  across 
the  current,  for  then  the  drop-flies  will  play  clear  of  the  cast- 
ing-line. This  is  the  opinion  of  most  good  fly-fishers.  First, 
cast  up  stream  along  the  shore,  and  if  the  stream  be  not  too 
wide,  cast  to  the  farther  shore,  drawing  your  flies  across  the 
stream,  but  not  too  fast,  lest  the  trout  become  suspicious.  In 
striking,  you  can  not  be  too  quick  when  fishing  up  a  stream. 
Cast  first  near  shore ;  then  a  yard  or  two  farther  off";  next, 
across  the  stream.  If  you  get  not  a  rise,  take  a  step  or  two 
up  the  stream  and  repeat.  Continue  doing  so  until  a  doubt 
arises  as  to  whether  the  trout  admire  your  cast ;  then  replace 
one  fly  by  another  of  different  color  from  any  on  your  cast. 
If  that  does  not  take  after  presenting  it  several  times,  take  it 
off  and  try  another  extreme  in  color.  Keep  changing  until 
you  hit  the  fancy  of  the  trout.  When  you  have  found  the 
fly  that  the  trout  admire,  change  your  other  flies  (if  you  fish 
with  three)  to  those  of  colors  in  slight  relief  to  the  taking 
one ;  that  is,  put  on  one  a  trifle  darker  and  the  other  a  little 
lighter  in  shade.  Anglers  are  not  so  high  a  remove  above 
the  rest  of  mankind  as  not  to  be  susceptible  to  a  slight  influ- 


166  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

ence  from  the  baser  sentiments  of  humanity ;  but  I  have  actu- 
ally seen  a  man  so  self-willed  as  to  fish  all  day  without  a  rise, 
"  because,"  as  he  said, "  he  was  determined  to  bring  the  trout 
to  his  terms." 

All  kinds  of  angling  call  for  the  exercise  of  patience ;  but 
fly-fishing  requires  the  gift  of  genius.  Do  not  fish  with  too 
long  a  cast.  In  fishing  a  creek  up  stream,  thirty  to  forty-five 
feet  are  quite  sufficient.  In  striking,  let  it  be  with  sufficient 
force  to  fasten  the  hook  in  his  jaw;  but  play  your  fish  most 
gingerly  and  even  tenderly,  but  not  so  as  to  give  him  slack 
line,  or  he  will  disgorge  the  hook.  One  of  the  principal 
causes  of  losing  large  fish  is  the  being  in  too  great  a  hurry 
to  land  them.  If  the  hook  is  well  fastened,  the  more  deli- 
cately your  fish  is  played  the  better;  for  snubbing  a  fish 
hard  at  all  points  wears  an  orifice  in  its  jaw  from  which  the 
hook  falls  by  the  mere  turning  of  the  fish.  It  is  true  that  the 
trout  has  a  good  mouth  to  hold  a  hook,  but  the  hook  must 
first  be  well  fastened  to  hold,  and  then  the  orifice  made  in 
hooking  should  not  be  worn  larger  in  playing,  if  possible  to 
avoid  it. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

KNOTS,  LOOPS,  AND  DROPS. 

While  anglers  should  let  every  trade  live,  and  buy  their 
tackle  in  preference  to  making  it,  yet  with  the  make  of  cer- 
tain parts  of  tackle  every  amateur  should  be  familiar.  Of 
course  he  should  know  how  to  tie  on  a  hook,  and  how  to  make 
a  loop  whose  equal  bearings  would  prevent  it  from  chafing 
or  breaking  at  the  loop-knot. 

No.  1.  Bending  on,  or  tying  on  a  hook.  The  hook  should  be 
tied  on  stained  silk-worm  gut,  round,  clear,  and  strong ;  for 
in  playing  a  fish  the  tackle  generally  parts  near  the  hook. 
Use  scarlet  silk,  well  waxed  with  a  drab  wax  made  from 
tar,  like  shoemaker's  wax,  only  light-colored.  From  about 
half  an  inch  below  the  end  of  the  shank,  make  half  a  dozen 
turns  with  the  silk  to  the  end  of  the  shank,  and  place  an 


Soak  Gut  befoke  Tying. 


167 


end  of  soaked  gut  on  the  shank,  and  begin  to  wind  it  on  at 
the  end  of  the  shank,  winding  close,  tight,  and  neat,  until 
you  have  wound  down  to  near  the  end  of  the  gut,  or  nearly- 
half  the  length  of  the  shank,  when  hold  the  end  of  your  silk 
there  and  form  a  loop  of  the  remainder,  and  cast  it  three  or 
four  times  over  the  shank  as  represented ;  then  draw  up  the 
loop  by  the  end  of  the  silk  thread,  which  will  leave  the  end 
fastened  under  those  three  or  four  loops  cast  over  the  bend 
of  the  hook,  thus  forming  a  good  finish,  so  that  you  may 
cut  the  end  of  the  silk  thread  close  to  the  tie  without  dan- 
srer  of  its  drawinar. 


168  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

No.  2.  Snell  loop.  Soak  the  gut,  and  tie  the  loop  as  repre- 
sented. It  is  the  very  best  tie  for  a  loop,  and  I  have  en- 
deavored so  to  represent  it  as  to  enable  an  amateur  to  im- 
itate it. 

No.  3.  A  helm-knot,  or  tiller  hitch,  useful  in  sailing  a  boat  or 
yacht,  because  the  hitch — though  secure — is  loosened  in- 
stantly by  a  jerk  at  the  end. 

No.  4.  The  common  knot  for  forming  a  loop  at  the  end  of  a 
silk-worm  gut  or  line. 

No.  5, 5.  Two  half  hitches,  forming  a  slide-knot  in  a  casting- 
line,  to  slide  for  holding  a  drop,  and  for  changing  drops*  at 
will.  Some  anglers  cast  the  end  twice  round  instead  of 
once,  as  shown.  The  drop  hangs  well  from  it,  being  at  a 
right  angle  from  the  casting-line  ;  but  with  only  one  hitch 
of  each  end,  as  represented,  the  gut  is  apt  to  slip  and  part 
the  casting  -  line,  especially  if  the  drops  are  frequently 
changed,  because,  when  the  knots  become  drawn  very  tight, 
they  are  hard  to  slide,  and  sliding  them  to  change  drops 
weakens  them ;  but  I  have  taken  many  hundreds  of  trout 
on  drops  so  arranged. 

No.  6.  The  first  drop,  of  the  correct  length.  It  is  the  red  ibis 
fly,  all  formed  of  the  ibis  feather  but  the  red  silk  body, 
wound  with  very  small  gold  or  silver  cord.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  attractive  lures  for  trout,  but  it  is  no.t  so  good 
as  the  coachman,  or  several  of  the  professprs,  for  large  fish. 
The  tail  and  hackle  at  the  neck  are  brown. 

No.  7.  A  knot  recommended  by  many  accomplished  anglers 
for  connecting  lengths  of  gut  to  form  a  casting-line.  Some 
bend  the  end  twice  round  instead  of  once,  as  shown.  If 
only  once,  the  ends  should  be  lashed  with  waxed  silk. 

No.  8.  Drop,  fastened  by  a  half  hitch  round  the  casting-line 
and  the  end  of  the  gut  near  the  knot.  After  tying  the  knot 
of  the  casting-line,  draw  it  tight,  and  cut  off  one  end  close, 
leaving  the  upper  end  half  an  inch  long.  Lash  this  end  to 
the  line,  and  cover  it  with  varnish,  and  loop  the  end  of  the 
drop  over  it.     By  this  plan  the  drop  will  not   chafe  or 


Turn  off  Ends  wrni  Varnish  or  Shellac.      169 

weaken  the  casting-line.  This  fastening  is  recommended 
by  Mr.  Francis,  and  shellac  might  form  a  good  covering  for 
the  lashed  end. 

Xo.  9.  Green  trophy-fly.  Peacock's  wing  body  and  Guinea- 
fowl  wings. 

No.  10.  Square  tie  in  a  casting-line.  After  drawing  it  close, 
cut  the  ends  to  half  an  inch  long,  and  lash  them  with  fine 
silk,  and  varnish  them. 

Xo.  11.  The  gut  of  the  drop,  soaked,  and  a  knot  tied  in  the 
end ;  it  is  attached  to  the  casting-line  close  to  the  knot  by 
a  half  hitch.  This  is  a  very  secure  method  and  clean  rig 
for  forming  a  casting-line  and  fastening  a  drop,  especially 
when  fishing  for  large  trout  of  from  two  to  five  pounds' 
weight ;  but  for  fish  under  two  pounds  I  prefer  the  rig  of 
line  and  drop  5  and  6. 

No.  12.  Alder-fly — -phryganea — body  of  peacock's  herl  whip- 
ped with  red  silk ;  wings  of  gray  cock's  hackle. 

No.  13.  Attaching  the  casting-line  to  the  reel-line.  This  loop 
is  quite  secure,  scarcely  any  chafing,  is  small  and  neat,  yet 
it  may  be  easily  loosened  without  cutting  the  knot  from 
the  end  of  the  casting-line.  This  is  recommended  when 
the  reel-line  has  a  loop  at  the  end ;  but  I  prefer  a  loop  in 
the  end  of  the  casting-line,  as  represented.  The  fastening 
is  the  same  in  either  case,  whether  the  loop  forms  the  end 
of  the  casting-line  or  the  reel-line.  Sometimes  a  loop  is 
made  in  each  ;  but  if  in  one  only,  I  prefer  it  in  the  casting- 
line,  as  I  consider  it  the  neatest  finish. 

No.  14.  The  casting-line,  rigged  with  stretcher  and  two  drop 
flies.  The  object  is  to  show  the  student  how  they  should 
be  rigged,  so  that  all  may  fall  at  the  same  time  on  the  wa- 
ter, calculating  the  natural  angle  of  the  casting-line. 

No.  15, 16,17.  No.  15  is  called  the  stretcher-fly;  16,  the  first 
drop ;  1 7,  the  second  drop,  or  hand-fly,  being  the  drop  near- 
est to  the  angler's  hand.  The  drop  for  the  hand-fly  should 
be  four  inches  long,  while  the  first  drop  should  be  from 
two  and  a  half  to  three  inches  in  lenojth.     The  knots  in  the 


170  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

casting-line  show  where  the  lengths  of  gut  are  tied — thus, 
from  the  stretcher-fly  to  the  first  drop  are  four  lengths  of 
gut,  and  three  or  four  lengths  from  the  first  drop  to  the 
hand-fly.  These  distances  will  be  changed  to  suit  taste 
and  the  distance  of  cast.  For  long  casts,  the  drops  should 
be  a  yard  apart. 
No.  1 8.  A  tie  for  uniting  lengths  of  gut,  so  that  they  will 
break  at  any  other  part  as  easily  as  at  the  tie.  Tie  a  knot 
in  the  end  of  each  length  of  gut ;  lap  them  an  inch,  and 
wind  them  closely  between  the  knots  with  white  waxed 
silk.  This  is  the  best  tie  for  a  salmon  leader  or  a  trout 
casting-line.  Casting-lines  should  be  made  of  stained  gut, 
the  gut  selected  so  as  to  taper  regularly  from  the  reel-line 
to  the  stretcher-fly;  and  the  drops  should  be  of  fine,  clear, 
round  gut,  stained  to  the  shade  of  the  casting-line.  It  is 
an  indication  of  very  bad  taste  in  a  fishing-tackle  maker  to 
,ofier  finely-tapered  and  stained  casting-lines  and  flies  tied 
to  coarse  gut,  and  not  dyed  or  shaded  to  the  tint  of  the 
casting-line.  All  should  be  in  harmonious  keeping,  from 
the  reel-line  to  the  casting-line  and  drops.  For  casting 
from  a  boat  or  from  the  clear  margin  of  a  stream,  the  cast- 
ing-line should  be  nine  feet  in  length,  or  even  a  foot  or  two 
more,  only  have  a  care  not  to  make  it  so  long  that,  with  the 
bend  of  a  twelve-foot  rod,  you  can  not  reel  up  sufficiently 
close  to  bring  your  fish  within  reach  of  your  landing-net. 
For  rough  fishing  on  a  stream  of  bramble  margins  a  cast- 
ing-line of  from  six  to  seven  feet  in  length,  and  one  drop 
besides  the  stretcher,  may  be  sufficient.  Many  anglers  dis- 
pense with  drops,  and  fish  with  one  fly  only  on  some  streams 
in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  and 
throughout  the  region  in  New  York  known  as  the  Adiron- 
dacks,  which  is  about  forty  miles  square,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  fish  arid  game  regions  in  America. 

HOW   TO    STAIN    SILK-WOEM    GUT. 

Gut  may  be  stained  by  leaving  it  in  a  strong  decoction  of 


To    STAIN    SlLK-^VOEM    GuT.  171 

cold  coffee  or  tea  twelve  hours.  Tinging  the  gut  thus  does 
not  weaken  it  or  render  it  less  pliable.  Logwood  and  alum 
form  a  decoction  very  commonly  in  use  for  staining  gut. 
Lemon-juice  and  indigo  produce  a  delicate  tinge.  The  outer 
skins  of  onions,  when  steeped,  produce  a  dye  which  stains  a 
yellow  or  leather-color  without  injuring  the  gut. 

Stoddart  states  that  walnut  leaves  produce  a  brown  dye, 
which  is  a  good  general  tinge  for  all  waters ;  and  such  mate- 
rials as  stain  the  gut  a  neutral  tinge,  or  bluish,  are  best  for 
clear  waters.  Steep  two  handsful  of  walnut  leaves  in  a 
quart  of  water,  and  when  cool,  soak  the  gut  in  the  water  two 
or  three  hours.  The  rind  of  the  American  black  walnut  forms 
as  good  a  dye  for  general  use  as  can  be  obtained.  A  bluish 
dye  is  obtained  by  boiling  a  handful  of  the  dust  or  shavings 
of  logwood  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  a  quart  of  water,  adding 
a  lump  of  alum  half  the  size  of  an  almond.  Dip  the  gut  in 
the  decoction  while  it  is  yet  very  warm,  and  allow  it  to  re- 
main half  an  hour,  or  until  the  shade  required  is  obtained. 
Gut  should  be  entirely  dried  after  staining  it,  and  then  it 
should  be  thoroughly  washed  in  tepid  water,  when,  after  dry- 
ing it  perfectly,  it  should  be  rolled  in  chamois  skin,  or  stretch- 
ed on  a  board  with  the  ends  fastened  to  keep  it  straight.  An 
excellent  plan  for  keeping  the  gut  straight  upon  which  flies 
are  tied  is  Hutchinson's,  before  mentioned.  The  distances 
between  the  loops  or  rings  and  the  hooks  should  be  so  grad- 
uated as  to  accommodate  different  lengths  of  gut,  as  illustra- 
ted on  the  page  of  trouting-tackle,  thus  enabling  the  fly-fisher 
to  change  his  flies  or  replace  one  quickly.  This  plan  is  ex- 
cellent for  drops,  but  stretchers  would  require  too  long  a  fly- 
book  for  convenience.  On  going  a-trouting,  I  usually  put  up 
a  couple  of  casts,  such  as  I  may  think  will  suit  the  waters 
which  I  contemplate  fishing.  For  most  waters  I  rig  a  stretch- 
er and  two  drops;  and  I  seldom  make  a  mistake  in  the  selec- 
tion of  flies.  In  the  early  spring  I  employ  the  cinnamon  as 
the  stretcher  for  one  cast,  a  red  ibis  as  a  stretcher  for  anoth- 
er, and  a  mallard  wing,  with  claret  body,  for  the  third.     The 


172  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

first  drop  above  the  cinnamon  is  an  ibis,  and  the  first  drop 
above  the  ibis  is  a  cinnamon,  and  the  first  drop  above  the 
mallard  wing  is  a  cinnamon.  The  hand-flies  are  the  blue  dun 
or  the  cow-dung.  The  blue  professor  is  also  an  excellent  fly 
early  in  the  season,  as  is  also  the  gray ;  the  yellow  is  better 
in  May. 

My  advice  to  the  angler  is  to  purchase  his  flies  of  the  best 
fly-tyers  in  New  York  and  Boston,  where  competition  has  pro- 
duced the  necessity  for  employing  first-rate  materials  in  all 
the  departments  of  fishing-tackle,  whether  of  gut,  flies,  hooks, 
lines,  reels,  rods,  and  the  coarser  paraphernalia  of  the  angler. 

Trout  Reels. — The  click  reel  is  ijicomparably  the  best, 
though  it  is  not  so  good  to  dry  a  line  on  as  is  the  Billinghast 
reel,  which  is  formed  of  brass  or  German  silver  wire,  and  the 
line  open  on  all  sides  to  the  air.  The  click  reel  checks  the 
line  to  a  certain  weight  of  resistance,  to  which  the  angler 
soon  becomes  accustomed,  and  in  giving  the  fish  the  butt,  he 
does  it  with  confidence,  because  he  has  ascertained  from  ex- 
perience how  great  a  check  he  puts  upon  the  fish,  and  the  pre- 
cise strain  caused  to  his  casting-line,  which  he  has  regulated 
accordingly.  This  is-  not  the  case  with  a  reel  whose  tension 
of  drag  may  be  changed  several  times  during  one  day's  sport. 
But  the  best  reel  for  my  use  is  a  click  reel,  with  a  large  per- 
forated barrel  or  cylinder  to  reel  the  line  on,  and  it  should 
also  be  perforated  at  the  ends  over  the  cylinder,  for  drying 
the  line.  The  advantage  of  a  large  cylinder  to  reel  the  line 
on  when  the  reel  does  not  multiply  is  important,  because  it 
shortens  the  time  of  reeling.  Besides,  with  a  large  cylinder, 
thirty  yards  is  a  sufficient  length  of  line.  I  once  killed  a  five- 
and-a-half-pound  trout  in  a  very  rapid  stream  with  a  nine- 
ounce  rod  and  only  thirty  yards  of  line.  It  took  me  two 
hours  and  twelve  minutes  to  kill  the  fish,  timed  by  Dr.  Be- 
thune,  of  Boston. 

A  click  multiplier  is  better  for  angling  with  the  worm  or 
minnow,  but  many  bait  anglers  of  the  country  prefer  a  small 
multiplier  without  a  click  or  drag.     Bell-metal  is  supposed 


Magic  in  a  good  Fly-rod.  173 

to  be  better  than  German  silver  or  brass,  but  alumine,  or  alu- 
minum, is  better  than  either. 

Fly  Rods. — Rods  made  from  split  bamboo  are  unquestion- 
ably the  best  in  use ;  but  a  Robert  Welch  rod,  of  ash  for  the 
butt  and  second  joint,  lance  wood  for  the  third,  and  split  bam- 
boo for  the  fourth  or  top  joint,  is  the  best  rod  that  I  have 
ever  owned  for  general  fly-fishing.  The  split  bamboo  rod  is 
much  lighter,  and  full  as  desirable.  A  fly  rod  should  not  be 
under  twelve  feet  in  length,  and  I  had  rather  have  it  six 
inches  over,  or  so  made  with  duplicate  top  and  third  joints 
as  to  make  it  either  twelve  or  twelve  feet  six,  though  my 
longest  fly  rod  is  only  twelve  feet  and  two  inches  long.  I 
prefer  a  single  action  rod  to  the  one  of  double  action  or  a 
"  kick  in  the  handle,"  though  the  latter  may  send  a  fly  far- 
ther, and  deliver  it  more  gracefully,  but  it  lacks  the  snap  of 
the  single  action  to  strike.  Fly -rods  from  split  bamboo 
should  weigh  from  seven  to  ten  ounces  when  mounted ;  and 
if  from  ash,  lancewood,  and  split  bamboo,  if  strictly  for  sin- 
gle hand,  their  weights  should  range  from  nine  to  fifteen 
ounces ;  and  if  the  latter  weight,  they  should  be  about  twelve 
and  a  half  feet  long.  Neither  rod  should  be  too  withy,  but 
have  snap  or  elasticity  enough  in  the  top  to  hook  a  fish  with- 
out yielding  enough  to  permit  the  sinner  to  disgorge.  One 
of  the  pleasures  of  fly-fishing  is  to  use  a  rod  which  will  re- 
sponsively  hook  a  trout  without  an  eflbrt  of  the  angler.  The 
sport  consists  in  delivering  a  fly  neatly  on  a  straight  line — 
seeing  the  trout  rise  gushingly  to  the  surface  and  accept  the 
lure — and  playing  a  trout  gracefully.  The  charm  consists  in 
the  manner  of  taking  the  trout,  and  the  suiToundings  of  a 
pleasing  landscape — the  music  of  birds,  the  spring-time  of 
general  rejuvenation,  and  the  running  harmony  of  intellectu- 
al conversation.  There  is  society  in  trouting,  but  it  does  not 
prevent  the  soul  from  basking  in  all  the  life  and  beauty  of 
sound  and  gayety  around. 

Landing  Nets. — If  for  landing  in  a  boat  or  on  shore,  a;  two- 
jointed  handle  is  the  best.     If  for  wading,  a  short  handle,  at- 


174  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

tached  to  an  elastic  cord  and  suspended  from  the  shoulder, 
or  a  double-jointer,  in  which  the  second  one  slides  into  the 
first,  and  is  attached  by  a  loop  to  a  button  on  the  breast,  is 
the  least  cumbersome.  I  have  found  the  hollow  wire  rims 
the  best,  and  brass  is  the  best  metal  for  them.  The  hollow 
rim  is  light,  and  it  does  not  rust.  As  to  the  round  and  oval 
shapes,  they  are  matters  of  caprice,  and  as  to  the  wicker 
frames  of  wood,  they  are  no  lighter  than  hollow  brass  wire, 
while  they  oifer  fourfold  resistance  to  the  :svater.  The  rim 
should  be  large,  the  meshes  large,  the  twine  not  too  fine,  and 
the  net  itself  large.  A  landing-net,  large,  strong,  and  light, 
is  one  of  the  angler's  sources  of  delight. 

Trout  Basket. — Let  it  be  plaited  or  woven  from  the  thin- 
outer  grain  of  the  willow  or  osier,  very  light  and  large ;  to 
contain  ten,  fifteen,  and  twenty  pounds  offish  are  the  sizes. 
They  should  be  stained  inside  and  painted  outside,  or  by 
painting  the  inside  also  they  are  more  easily  cleaned.  Green 
is  the  color  preferred.  The  shape  not  very  deep,  with  a  hole 
in  the  lid,  brass  hinges,  a  staple  extending  up  through  the  lid, 
fastened  with  a  padlock.  The  strap  should  be  of  worsted 
webbing  instead  of  russet  leather,  or  if  of  russet  leather  there 
should  be  a  pad  attached,  with  straps  to  slide  on  the  shoul- 
der-strap to  the  right  place.  The  New  York  fishing-tackle 
dealers  have  introduced  a  new  gear,  by  which  the  weight 
rests  on  both  shoulders,  and  the  basket  is  held  more  securely, 
and  is  less  cumbersome  in  forest-fishing.  The  angler's  coat 
should  be  made  with  a  strap  and  button  on  the  shoulder,  un- 
der which  to  hold  the  strap  of  the  trout-basket ;  and  there 
should  be  another  strap  on  the  coat  at  the  left  side,  to  pre- 
vent the  basket -strap  from  moving,  and  the  basket  from 
swinging  about  while  climbing  over  logs  and  fences.  But 
the  great  desideratum  consists  in  getting  a  light  and  small 
basket,^  which  will  contain  a  great  many  large  trout  of  your 
own  taking. 

Bait  Box. — Of  course  bait-boxes  and  fly-books  are  articles 
to  purchase  at  the  fishing-tackle  stores ;  and  while  there  are 


Finishing  up  the  Trouting  Kig.  175 

numerous  theories  about  fly-]3ooks,  there  can  be  but  few  about 
bait-boxes.  I  will  therefore  state,  beware  of  those  three- 
story  complications.  Procure  a  box  as  simple  as  possible  in 
construction,  made  to  slide  on  and  be  supported  by  the  waist- 
belt  which  holds  up  the  wading  water-proofs,  or  the  common 
leather  waist-belt.  It  should  consist  of  two  compartments, 
one  for  worm  and  the  other  for  minnow,  or  for  grub-worms 
and  grasshoppers. 

Carrying  Casts  of  Flies. — Instead  of  winding  a  casting- 
line  round  the  hat,  a  double  band  is  made  to  fit  the  hat  arid 
buckle  round  over  the  hat-band,  and  the  casting-line  or  snell- 
ed  flies  are  attached  to  it  and  folded  in,  so  as  not  to  expose 
them,  or  render  them  liable  to  get  loose  and  dangle  about,  to 
the  danger  of  the  face  and  eyes.  The  Calcutta  or  Gibraltar 
sporting-hat,  illustrated  on  the  plate  with  the  salmon-rod,  is 
excellently  adapted  for  carrying  snelled  flies  or  casts.  A 
"snelled  fly"  is  a  length  of  silk-worm  gut,  with  a  fly  at  one 
end  and  a  loop  at  the  other. 

Straightening  Casting-lines. — Hitch  the  line  at  one  end 
either  by  the  hook  or  a  loop,  and  rub  the  line  with  brown 
paper  between  your  thumb  and  finger,  and  it  will  take  the 
turns  out  of  it;  or,  rub  it  between  India-rubber;  but  both 
these  methods  tend  to  chafe  'the  gut  more  or  less,  and  neither 
shotild  be  resorted  to  if  you  can  have  time  to  soak  the  gut  in 
tepid  water  half  an  hour.  I  am  in  the  habit  of  soaking  my 
casting-line  over  night  in  cold  water  if  I  intend  to  fish  early 
the  next  morning ;  and  I  am  accustomed  also  to  selecting  the 
flies  which  I  think  may  be  necessary,  and  on  the  rim  of  a  glass 
nearly  filled  with  water  I  hang  the  hooks,  letting  the  gut  fall 
in  the  glass  and  soak  all  night.  I  do  not  approve  of  straight- 
ening gut  by  friction  when  soaking  it  is  possible. 

Thus^  with  a  finely-balanced  and  finished  fly-rod,  a  click 
reel  attached  to  the  rod  below  the  hand,  a  silk  and  hair 
braided  line,  protected  from  the  efiect  of  water  by  being 
oiled,  varnished,  or  saturated  with  some  oleaginous  substance, 
braided  like  a  whip-lash  to  taper  each  way  from  the  middle, 


176  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

a  stained  gut  casting-line  tapering  from  the  reel-line  to  the 
stretcher,  a  well-selected  cast  of  flies,  with  drops  artistically 
fastened  to  the  casting-line,  and  of  proper  length,  a  good 
landing-net  and  light  basket,  and  I  am  ready  for  the  fray  and 
to  angle  all  day;  for  I  never  yet  experienced  a  day  long 
enough  while  fishing. 

Oh  !  the  varied  and  mixed  emotions  of  the  fly-fisher.  How 
often  he  is  tantalized  by  false  rises,  which  suddenly  inflate 
him  with  hope,  to  collapse  as  soon  by  disappointment.  Some- 
times he  misses  a  well-intended  rise  of  so  bold  an  effort  as  to 
render  the  fish  too  much  alarmed  by  the  sights  and  sense  of 
the  upper  air  to  trust  a  repetition.  Anon  he  hooks  a  fine 
trout,  and  in  playing  it  the  hook  parts  from  the  jaw  of  the 
fish,  leaving  to  conjecture  whether  it  was  really  a  disgorge 
or  a  too  tender  hold.  Thus  he  continues  whipping  the  water, 
exercised  by  various  emotions,  when  a  large  feeding  trout 
springs  above  the  water,  revealing  all  his  beauties  of  color 
and  proportions,  and,  taking  the  fly,  he  darts  away  with  the 
power  and  celerity  which  prove  that  he  is  going  to  try  the 
strength  of  the  tackle.  What  interesting  moments  to  the 
angler !  The  numerous  runs  of  the  fish,  his  wiles  and  strat- 
egy to  escape,  are  all  tried  in  vain,  and  he  is  finally  helped 
out  of  the  wet  by  means  of  the  landing-net. 

The  man  or  boy  who  has  never  taken  a  trout  has  not 
really  seen  one — with  angler's  eyes.  To  the  angler,  a  large, 
healthy  trout  in  full  season,  just  taken,  when  fish  are  scarce 
and  bite  shy,  is  the  prettiest  object  in  the  whole  world  of 
beauty. 

NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL  TROUT   FLIES. 

Letter  A,  the  artificial,  and  B,  the  natural  dun-cut  fly  {phry- 
ganea)^  is  a  good  lure  for  the  month  of  May.  Body  of 
brown  bear's  hair,  mixed  with  blue  and  yellow  worsted, 
whipped  with  green  and  yellow ;  brown  feather  wings,  and 
squirrel's-tail  hair  for  antennae. 

Letter  C,  the  artificial,  and  D,  the  natural  of  the  green-tail  fly 


Deceptions  of  Aet. 

C  B 


177 


(phrygmiea).  This  is  regarded  as  a  successful  fly  for  April ; 
body  dubbed  with  fur  from  hare's  ear,  whipped  with  gray 
or  green  silk,  "hackle  from  gray  cock,  and  wings  from  the 
prolace  of  a  partridge  wing. 

Letter  E,  the  natural,  and  F,  the  artificial  of  the  prime  dun,  a 
fly  for  March  {ephemera)^  and  for  which  month  the  great 
dun,  dark  brown,  little  red-brown,  and  the  small  dark  brown 
are  also  favorites.  They  are  composed  of  different  shades 
of  mohair,  dun  and  speckled  wings,  and  gray  and  light 
brown  hackles. 

Letter  I,  the  artificial,  and  J,  the  natural  dun  drake,  or  March 
brown,  or  Moorish  brown  {ephemera).  Body  of  hare's-ear 
fur  and  yellow  worsted,  or  black  wool  whipped  with  red 
silk ;  mottled  wings,  and  hackle  from  the  gray  cock.  Pro- 
fessor Rennie,  M.  Carroll,  and  hosts  of  other  authorities, 
consider  this  the  best  March  fly. 

M 


178  Fishing  in  American  Wateks. 

Letter  G,  the  natural,  and  H,  the  artificial  cow-dung  fly.  The 
body  of  lemon-yellow  mohair  and  a  yellow  feather,  whip- 
ped with  yellow  silk,  and  the  wings  of  grayish-blue  feather 
of  a  hen,  land-rail,  or  mallard.  This  is  one  of  the  taking 
flies  for  March  and  April,  and  the  best  that  I  ever  saw  were 
tied  by  Pritchard  Bros. 
Letter  K,  the  artificial,  and  L,  the  natural  blue  dun  or  violet 
fly.  Body  of  light  worsted  violet,  mixed  with  gray  down ; 
the  wings  from  the  pale  feathers  of  a  starling's  wing,  whip- 
ped with  pale  yellow  silk.  The  black  gnat,  early  and  late 
bright  browns  or  cinnamons,  palm  fly,  and  whirling  dun, 
with  the  blue  dun,  dun  drake,  with  palmers,  hackles,  and 
the  stone  fly,  are  intended  for  both  March  and  April. 
Letter  M,  the  natural,  and  N,  the  artificial  hawthorn  fly. 
Body  of  black  ostrich  herl  or  black  seal's  fur,  mixed  with 
buff"  mohair ;  wings  of  horn  shavings,  or  of  the  palest 
snipe's  feather  or  mallard's  wing. 
Letter  O,  the  natural,  and  P,  the  artificial  oak  fly.  This  is  a 
May  insect,  famous  under  the  names  of  oak  fly,  camlet  fly, 
down-hill  fly,  and  canon  fly.  The  body*  is  dubbed  with 
dark  brown  shining  camlet,  whipped  with  very  fine  green 
silk,  or  is  made  with  a  bittern's  feather,  and  the  wings  from 
the  double  gray  feather  of  a  mallard  or  of  a  woodcock. 
Letter  Q,  the  natural,  and  R,  the  artificial  green  drake  or 
green  May-fly,  the  common  fresh-water  fly  for  May.  The 
body  is  dubbed  with  hog's  down  or  light  bear's  hair,  mix- 
ed with  yellow  mohair,  whipped  with  pale  floss  silk,  and  a 
small  strip  of  peacock's  herl  for  the  head ;  the  wings  from 
the  rayed  feathers  of  the  mallard,  dyed  yellow ;  the  hackle 
from  the  bittern's  neck,  and  the  tail  from  the  long  hairs  of 
the  sable  or  ferret. 

The  gray  drake  is  similar  in  form,  but  diflerent  in  colors, 
having  the  body  dubbed  with  whitish  hog's  down,  mixed 
with  black  spaniel's  fur  or  white  ostrich  herl,  whipped  with 
black  silk ;  the  wings  dark  gray  mallard ;  black  hackle,  with 
silver  twist ;  whisks  of  tail  from  a  black  cat's  whiskers. 


Fine  Tackle  always  Alluking.  179 

Comments. — From  the  perusal  of  previous  pages  addressed 
to  the  questions  of  "senses,  in  fishes,"  the  reader  will  not  be 
surprised  at  the  difference  between  natural  and  artificial  flies. 
Fishes  in  general,  and  indeed  all  fishes,  are  generally  more 
readily  attracted  by  the  size,  color,  and  action  of  a  lure  than 
by  its  form.  And  as  a  floating  lure  is  better  than  a  sinking 
one,  the  fly-tyers  prefer  such  floating  hairs  as  those  from 
hog's  ears,  seals,  bears,  the  South  American  fox,  otter,  etc., 
while  for  feathers  they  prefer  those  of  the  mallards,  the  bar- 
red feathers  of  the  wood-duck,  and  numerous  other  oil-quilled 
feathers,  including  all  such  as  do  not  lose  their  lustre  by  the 
action  of  water,  and,  like  the  topknot  of  the  golden-pheas- 
ant, will  shine  as  brilliantly  in  the  water  as  above  it.  It  is 
doubtless  true  that  more  care  in  selecting  floating  materials, 
and  the  adoption  of  a  greater  number  of  oleaginous  sub- 
stances in  mounting  flies,  would  be  an  improvement  upon  the 
almost  perfect  state  to  which  the  art  of  fly-tying  has  already 
attained.  I  prefer  a  body  of  silk  to  one  of  mohair  for  the 
c^wwamon^y,  because  silk  retains  more  lustre  when  wet  than 
does  common  wool,  or  even  mohair ;  and  so  with  the  blue  pro- 
fessor^ another  attractive  fly  for  large  trout,  the  body  of 
which  should  be  wound  with  lustrous  blue  silk.  The  near- 
est copies  of  nature  that  I  ever  saw  in  flies  are  those  of  gut- 
ta-percha, recently  imported  by  Andrew  Clerk  &  Co.,  who 
^eep  the  largest  assortment  of  hooks,  duffings,  feathers,  silk- 
worm gut,  and  all  the  materials  i-equisite  for  the  angler  to 
be  prepared  with  on  a  lengthy  fishing  tour,  of  any  house  in 
America,  if  not  in  the  world. 

Many  fly-fishers  claim  that  a  different  fly  is  required  for 
every  month  during  the  trouting  season;  but  that  has  not 
been  my  experience  with  trout,  nor  of  the  best  anglers  with 
whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject.  I  refer  not  to  fledged 
lures  for  salmon,  as  that  royal  fish  is  as  capricious  about  flies, 
and  changes  its  mind  as  frequently  as  did  the  Empress  Jose- 
phine about  bonnets. 

Barker,  an  authority  on  angling,  says: 


180 


Fishing  in  Ameeican  W^-ters. 


"A  brother  of  the  angle  must  always  be  sped 
With  three  black  palmers,  and  also  three  red  ; 
And  all  made  with  hacklfes.     In  a  cloudy  day 
Or  in  windy  weather,  angle  you  may." 

He  then  recommends  the  May-fly,  and  states  that  the  haw- 
thorn fly  should  be  small,  while  the  oak  fly  with  brown  wings 
and  the  grasshopper  should  be  carefully  imitated,  concluding 
with  the  following  advice : 

"  Once  more,  my  good  brother,  I'll  speak  in  thy  ear : 
Hog's,  red  cow's,  and  bear's  wool  to  float  best  appear ; 
And  so  doth  your  fur,  if  it  rightly  fall ; 
But  always  remember,  make  two,  and  make  all.' 


Wise  Trout  below  the  Dajvi. 


181 


CHAPTER  III. 


MIDDLE  DAM  CAMP. 

This  camp  is  situated  at  the  head  of  Rapid  River,  and  at 
the  foot  of  Mollychunkemunk  Lake,  being  the  next  lake  east 
of  the  Umbagog,  in  a  chain  of  a  dozen  lakes,  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  which  head  near  the  mountains  separating  that  state 
from  Canada.  Rapid  River  falls  into  Umbagog  Lake,  and  as 
this  is  a  famous  trouting  region,  I  give  a  view  of  the  camp, 
where  the  angler  luxuriates  on  brook  trout  and  spruce  par- 
tridges, and  rests  from  his  day's  labor  on  a  spring-bed.  Trout 
of  nine  pounds'  weight  each  have  been  taken  there,  though  I 
never  took  one  which  scaled  much  over  six  pounds.  It  was 
here  that  I  met  a  new  experience  in  the  character  of  trout, 
and  think  it  worth  relating  for  the  benefit  of  anglers. 

While  I  believe  that  trout  are  not  generally  so  discrimin- 
ating in  the  selection  of  artificial  flies  as  to  evince  acuteness 
of  vision,  yet  I  have  experienced  that  at  certain  waters,  when 
the  streams  are  low  and  clear,  a  copy  of  the  living  fly  is  more 


182  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

or  less  necessary  to  success.  This  is  the  case  at  the  pool  and 
rapids  below  the  middle  dam  at  the  head  of  Rapid  River,  and 
half  a  mile  below  Middle  Dam  Camp,  where  a  large  shoal  of 
— rapparently  educated — trout  keep  leaping  and  tumbling  so 
that  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  speckled  beauties  of  from  two  to 
five  pounds'  weight  are  always  in  sight.  But  it  used  to  be 
said  that  they  would  not  take  an  artificial  fly ;  so,  school-boy 
like,  the  guests  at  the  camp  sent  every  angler,  on  his  arrival, 
to  "  try  below  the  dam,"  as  a  sell.  It  pleased  them  to  see  a 
fresh  man's  face  glow  at  the  first  sight  of  those  sportive  beau- 
ties, which  acted  as  if  half  in  coquetry  and  half  in  defiance 
of  anglers.  I  felt  thankful  when  witnessing  the  self-denying 
hospitality  which  prompted  several  anglers,  who  were  entire 
strangers  to  me,  to  ceasQ  angling  opposite  the  camp  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  showing  me  a  pool  full  of  very  anxious  trout. 
They  left  after  I  had  tried  in  vain  to  coax  a  favorable  notice 
at  one  cast  of  flies.  I  changed  my  cast  several  times,  and 
then  rested  the  pool  to  allow  them  to  change  their  minds  or 
whet  their  appetites,  until  I  devoted  in  that  way  about  two 
days,  to  the  amusement  of  the  anglers  at  the  camp,  and  final- 
ly* began  to  think  that  the  stories  I  had  heard  about  the  sa- 
gacity of  those  trout  were  true.  On  my  return  to  camp  aft- 
er each  trial  below  the  dam,  I  saw  that  my  brethren  of  the 
angle  were  interested  in  my  efforts  by  their  furtive  glances 
and  sly  winks  at  each  other  as  they  anxiously  inquired  what 
sport  I  had  enjoyed.  But  all  their  jokes  fell  short,  for  my 
mind  was  with  the  sparkling  beauties  below  the  dam.  After 
having  exhausted  my  fly-books  of  their  attractive  lures,  I 
concluded  to  repair  to  the  dam  and  study  the  trout.  There 
they  were,  apparently  as  jolly  as  ever,  rolling,  tumbling,  and 
leaping  about  the  surface  of  the  clear,  curling  pool.  I  had 
not  sat  long  on  the  dam,  and  peered  into  the  sparkling  eddies 
below,  before  I  saw  a  trout  rise  gracefully  and  swallow  an 
ash-colored  midge  which  had  floated  down  from  the  dam. 
On  looking  around  me,  I  saw  a  cloud  of  drab  ephemera,  rath- 
er larger  thai!  musquitoes,  swarming  ov^r  the  dry  timber 


1^ 


Fish  Philosophy  evolved.  183 

,  and  ever  and  anon,  as  one  fell  on  the  water,  a  trout 
very  gracefully  and  swallowed  it,  turning  quickly  down, 

nd  causing  a  whirl  made  by  his  caudal  train,  which  had  so 
excited  me  when  I  first  looked  upon  the  pool.  With  assidu- 
ity I  commenced  examining  my  flies  in  search  of  an  ash 
midge.  I  soon  found  a  pair,  and,  placing  one  on  as  my  stretch- 
er, the  first  cast  I  made  with  it  fastened  a  three-pound  trout, 
played  and  landed  it.  The  next  cast  I  fastened  another,  but 
so  slightly  that  the  hook  parted  from  his  mouth.  Two  or 
three  more  casts  assured  me  that  the  shoal "  smelt  a  rat ;" 
and  as  minks,  muskrats,  and  flies  .with  hooked  tails  are  their 
terror,!  adjourned  to  another  pool,  and  did  not  return  to  the 
dam  until  nearly  night,  wl^en  I  took  the  conceit  out  of  four 
more  beauties ;  but,  after  playing  the  fifth  nearly  half  an  hour, 
he  made  a  rush  for  the  rapids,  and  went  over  the  chute,  car- 
rying away  my  casting  -  line.  Having  captured  five,  and 
played  two  more  trout  that  day,  I  felt  satisfied.  I  had  for 
years  contended  that  trout  might  be  taken  with  artificial  fly 
when  in  feeding  humor,  but  I  had  never  before  found  them  so 
fastidious  or  discriminative.    Since  then,  Mr.  James  Stephens, 

f  Hoboken,  and  myself,  hired  a  trout-pond  in  Connecticut, 
and  though  I  fished  it  three  days,  and  Mr.  Stephens  three 
weeks,  yet  neither  of  us  succeeded  in  capturing  one  with  the 

y.  Neither  would  they  take  a  minnow,  while  they  rose 
freely  to  angle  and  grub  worms,  cast,  without  sinker,  as  a  fly. 
On  the  last  day  of  my  visit  to  the  pond  I  saw  the  trout  nish- 
[ing  furiously  after  tadpoles ;  but,  as  I  had  not  time  to  re- 
main and  try  that  bait,  I  probably  lost  a  treat,  for  I  have 
since  heard  that  it  is  the  favorite  lure  for  trout  in  some  parts 

f  the  state.  Indeed,  the  fish-culturists  of  France  propagate 
frogs,  that  the  trout  may  feed  on  tadpoles. 

The  angler,  on  making  a  lengthy  tour  for  sport,  can  not 

ave  too  great  a  number  or  variety  of  artificial  flies.    He  can 

rocure  them  at  the  principal  fishing-tackle  establfehments 
New  York,  where  competition  has  so  sharpened  invention 
d  enterprise  that  the  best  flies  and  fly-tiers  are  imported, 


184 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


together  with  the  best  materials,  from  wherever  on  earth 
they  are  to  be  obtained.  Or  he  may  be  supplied  in  Boston, 
Montreal,  Quebec,  or  at  Rome,  Rochester,  or  Mumford,'New 
York. 

In  addition  to  an  extensive  assortment  of  flies,  the  angler 
should  carry  silks,  wools,  mohair,  duffings,  and  feathers  of  va- 
rious colors,  gold  and  silver  threads  and  tinsels,  fine  hooks, 
and  selected  gut,  so  that  he  may  occasionally  extemporize  a 
cast  of  flies,  which,  though  not  so  finely  tied,  may  combine 
size  and  colors  attractive  for  the  finny  epicures  which  show 
themselves  fastidious  about  putting  in  an  appearance.  This 
xjourse  is  pursued  by  many  experienced  anglers,  whom,  I  may 
justly  add,  are  great  bunglers  at  tying  a  fly  or  properly 
mounting  a  hook.  Half  a  dozen  lessons  from  Pritchard 
Brothers,  or  from  one  of  the  fly-tyers  for  Andrew  Clerk  & 
Co.,  could  scarcely  fail  of  being  useful  to  the  student  of  con- 
templative philosophy. 

SECTION  SECOND. 

•  SELECT    ARTIFICIAL   TROUT-FLIES. 


No.  1.  Black  Gnat.— Black  ostrich-feather  body,  wings  of  pale  starling's  feather,  drab 
tail  and  antennae.  2.  Red  Ibis.— Red  body,  wound  with  gold  or  silver  cord ;  browu 
hackle  and  tail,  red  ibis-feather  wings.  3.  Wilson's  Professor.— Yellow  gut  body, 
mounted«by  M'Bride,  of  Mumford,  N.  Y. ;  red  ibis  tail  headed  with  gold  tinsel,  brown 
hackle,  gray  mallard  wing.  4.  Stone  Ply — Green  drake  wing  and  hackle,  drab  body 
and  tail.  5.  Pritchard's  Stone  Fly. — Composition  body,  drab  wings,  tail,  and  anteu- 
nae.  6.  Cinnamon  Fly. — Orange  body,  ash-colored  wings,  brown  hackle  and  tail. 
7.  Green  Drake.— Silver  body,  tipped  with  gold ;  short  black  hackle,  black  head, 
brown  tail ;  wings  and  shoulders  of  green. drake  feather. 


A    CKOOKED   BUT    POINTED    SuBJECT. 


185 


BOUND    BEND    FLY-HOOKS. 

These  are  Adlington  and  Hutchinson's  superfine  warranted 
cast-steel  hooks.  They  are  imported  in  great  numbers  by 
Andrew  Clerk  &  Co.,  and,  whether  straight  or  curbed,  are  the 
best  fly-hook  in  use,  and  infinitely,  superior  to  the  common 
Limerick  hook. 


1 


00 


f^ 

n 

n 

n 

n 

(^ 

1 

V    \ 

FISH-HOOK   PHILOSOPHY. 

Upon  the  subject  of  fish-hooks,  their  important  qualities 
and  bearings  are  applicable  to  hooks  for  all  fishing  purposes. 
The  draft,  or  pull  on  a  hook,  is  equally  applicable  to  a  hook 
for  fly-fishing  or  for  capturing  the  largest  sharks.  It  is  con- 
ceded by  hook-makers  that  the  forged  hook  is  the  best, 
whether  it  be  hammered  flat,  square,  or  round.  The  needle- 
pointed,  cast-Steel  hooks,  of  round  bend,  are  probably  best  for 
mounting  with  flies  for  salmon,  black  bass,  or  trout,  or  bait- 
ing for  striped  bass,  squeteague,  and  maskinonge ;  while  for 
sh^pshead,  kingfish,  and  for  all  fishes  which  have  a  small 
and  hard  mouth,  the  Sproat  bend  is  preferable.  Of  the  Kiu- 
sey  or  Pennsylvania  hook,  the  shape  is  good  for  small  fish, 
but  it  gapes  so  much  that  a  large  fish  is  apt — in  sulking  and 
beating  its  nose  against  a  rock,  or  rubbing  it  on  the  gravel 
bottom — to  spring  the  hook  out.  If  made  of  large  wire  and 
well  tempered,  it  is  good  for  sheepshead  and  kingfish,  because 
it  is  not  so  long  from  the  bend  to  the  barb  as  is  the  Limerick 


,c     d^. 


c 


186  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

of  the  O'Shaughnessy  pattern,  or  the  regulation  hook  for  ex- 
portation. The  Virginia  hook,  and  the  Sproat  and  round 
bends  of  Redditch,  are  the  best  that  I  have  seen. 

The  foregoing  cut,  representing  the  samples  of  two  hooks, 
was  clipped  from  a  recent  number  of  the  Field,  and  as  it 
embodies  philosophy  f©unded  on  experience,  I  give  it,  refer- 
ring to  the  cut,  as  folloAvs : 

"  Now  I  have  this  autumn  devoted  particular  attention  to 
this  subject,  i.  e.,  hooks.  I  have  been  fishing  with  Hutchin- 
son's Limerick  and  Sproat  bends  (I  may  remark  that  I  can 
not  speak  too  highly  of  the  latter  for  its  prehensile  capabili- 
ties), and  the  following  is  the  result.  In  seven  consecutive 
days'  fishing  I  hooked  thirty-six  fish,  and  of  them  landed 
twenty-seven.  I  was  broken  four  times.  Once  my  single 
gut,  with  which  I  always  fish,  was  frayed  by  a  heavy  fish 
against  sharp  boulders,  and  three  times  the  hooks  were  the 
traitors — two  were  Limericks,  and  one  was  a  Sproat.  Three 
out  of  thirty-six  is  too  large  a  proportion,  and  it  is  very  de- 
sirable to  reduce  it.  Even  in  fishing  with  single  gut,  the 
heaviest  fish,  if  properly  handled,  barring  the  circumstances 
of  snags  or  boulders,  seldom  succeed  in  breaking  the  line. 
But  what  handling  will  save  a  hook  ?  One  will  go  some- 
times, and  most  unaccountably,  probably  from  being  fixed  so 
as  to  allow  the  fish  to  wrench,  jerk,  or  squeeze  it.  The  first 
step  to  a  cure  is  to  find  the  weak  point. 

"  The  only  Sproat  hook  which  has  broken  with  me  went  at 
the  point  a.  I  think  it  is  an  admirable  form  of  hook,  al- 
though I  tried  it  first  as  an  experiment  this  year,  with  much 
prejudice  against  the  looks  of  it.  It  is  less  apt  to  break  than 
the  Limerick,  both  from  its  form,  and  because  the  pull,  5,  c,  is 
nearly  in  the  direction  of  the  point,  whereas  in  the  other  the 
line  of  pull,  d^  e,  forms  an  obtuse  angle  at  the  point  e.  Of 
the  thousand  and  one  Limerick  hooks  which  I  have  seen  bro- 
ken, either  against  stones  or  in  fish,  by  far  the  greater  propor- 
tion have  failed  at  the  point  /",  where — in  good  hooks  to  a 
less,  and  in  bad  to  a  greater  measure — the  wire  is  reduced  in 


BrpoETANT  Elucidations.  187 

forming  the  barb.  Having  determined  the  weak  point,  I 
think  it  can  be  merely  a  mechanical  difficulty  which  prevents 
that  part  of  the  hook  being  made  as  strong  as  the  rest,  and 
anglers  should  insist  on  manufacturers  overcoming  it.  I  ob- 
tained some  hooks  from  Messrs.  Bernard,  of  St.  James's  Pas- 
sage, which  were  flat-sided — that  is,  they  were  filed  to  angles, 
and  the  section  of  the  wire  would  be  nearly  an  oblong.  They 
appeared  exceptionally  strong,  but  were  otherwise  objection- 
able, being  over-ironed  and  over-barbed.  I  think  something 
might  be  done  by  flattening  the  wire  from  the  beginning  of 
the  bend,  the  shank  being  left  circular  for  fly-dressing  facili- 
ties. A  section  of  the  wire  at  the  bend  would  then  be  ellip- 
tical. However,  ignorance  as  to  the  manufacture,  unfortu- 
nately, is  in  the  way  of  my  suggesting  any  thing  practical ; 
but  if  I  succeed  in  drawing  attention  from  anglers  and  man- 
ufacturers to  this  subject,  my  object  in  occupying  so  much 
of  your  space  will  be  fulfilled.  Salmoniceps. 

"  [The  hooks  which  *  Salmoniceps'  describes  as  flat  and  filed 
at  the  sides  are,  we  fancy,  not  filed,  but  hammered_,  as  they 
are  usually  described  in  the  trade  as '  forged  Limerick  tapers.' 
We  have  previously  expressed  a  very  high  opinion  of  the 
Sproat  bend,  which  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  best,  if  not  tin' 
best,  salmon  hook  made. — Ed.]" 

Having  a  greater  variety  of  fishes  to  angle  for  in  America 
than  there  are  of  angler's  fishes  in  Europe,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  recur  to  this  subject,  for  the  fish-hook  is  the  foundation  of 
all  fishing-tackle;  and  if  it  gives  way,  all  the  expense  of 
mounting  or  baiting  it,  with  expense  of  other  tackle  and  loss 
of  time,  besides  the  chagrin,  amounting  to  mortification  and 
sometimes  almost  desperation  at  losing  a  very  large  fish,  go 
for  worse  than  nothing.  The  centre-draft  hook  of  the  an- 
cients is  quite  similar  to  the  hook  «,  5,  c,  minus  the  barb,  and 
it  is  probably  the  best  form  for  all  large  fish. 


Plate  of  Trout-flies. 


A  Cleegyman's  Contribution.  189 

No.  1.  Red  body,  wound  with  gold  cord;  streamers  red, blue  legs.  2.  Coachman.— 
White  wings,  green  peacock  herl  body,  brown  legs.  3.  Drab  npper  wings,  and  brown 
under  ditto ;  cinnamon  body  and  legs.  4.  Red  body  and  legs,  brown  mallard  wings. 
5.  Peacock  herl  body,  Guinea-hen  wings,  brown  hackle.  6.  Gold  body,  orange  wings, 
sandy  legs,  and  gray  tail.  7.  Silver-drab  wings,  yellow  body,  and  black  legs.  8.  Red- 
dish-brown wings  and  legs,  with  peacock  herl  body.  9.  Drab  wings,  brown' body, 
legs,  and  tail.  10.  B^o^vn  Lody,  red  legs,  gray  mottle  win^s  and  antennae.  11.  June- 
fly.— Orange  wings,  brown  body  and  hackle.  12.  Red  body,  brown  wings,  gray  mal- 
lard wings.  13.  Brown  hackle  and  two  hdoks.  14.  Purple  body,  wings,  legs,  gray 
tail,  and  green  herl  at  root  of  tail.  15.  Gold  body,  yellow  and  black  legs,  wings 
white  and  black  bars.  16.  Silver  body,  speckled  wings,  brown  legs.  17.  Black 
hackle  over  body  of  orange  wound  with  gold,  gray  wings,  and  yellow  tail.  18.  Brown 
bo(ff  wound  with  gold  cord,  gray  wings,  red  and  black  hackle.  19.  Green  body,  red 
tail,  gray  legs,  and  hackle  round  the  neck.  20.  Yellow  Professor. — Yellowish-gray 
wings,  red  tail,  golden  body,  gray  antennae.  21.  Gray  Professor.— Broven  maUard 
wings,  red  hackle,  gray  body  wound  with  gold,  yellow  legs.  22.  Black  Gnat. — 
Black  body,  legs,  hackle ;  ash  wings.  23.  Blue  Profjpssor. — Body  dark  blue  and  gold, 
legs  blue,  and  drab  wings.  24.  Body  brown  South  American*  fox,  wound  with  silver 
cord ;  dark  browu  wings  and  legs. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

BAIT-FISHING   FOR  TROUT. 

"  Hail  to  the  spring-time  and  the  hills ! 
Hail  to  the  meadows  and  the  fog ! 
Hail  to  the  gorges  and  the  rills ! 
All  hail  the  trout  'neath  yonder  log ! 
Have  good  care, 
That's  his  lair : 
Heigh-ho,  hop, 
Flip,  flap,  flop. 

Hail  to  the  shocking  old  straw  hat, 

Second-hand  trowsers,  coat,  and  boots. 
Box  of  worms,  lively,  and  fat. 
All  hail  your  hook  in  those  old  roots !       • 
Careless  man, 
Mad  as  bran, 
Neither  snap. 
Nor  flip,  flap. 

Blessed  and  calm  the  smiling  mom ; 

Birds  sing  wheresoe'er  we  roam. 
Flowers  the  fields  and  woods  adorn  ; 
All  hail  my  line  'midst  dancing  foam ! 
Now  look  out — 
Silent  stand — 
And  a  trout 

Will  kiss  my  hand. 

Hail  the  graceful  silver  gleam ! 

Lo !  a  trout,  with  sudden  spring. 
Forms  a  spray-bow  o'er  the  stream. 
And  is  added  to  my  string. 
Verhum.  sap, 
Flip,  lloj),  flap." 


190  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

The  above  pastoral  was  contributed  by  a  clergyman  who 
is  as  eloquent  in  the  pulpit  as  he  is  persuasive  along  the 
streams.     The  disciples  were  fishermen. 

The  bait-rod  should  be  a  little  heavier  and  longer  than  the 
fly-rod.  I  prefer  one  not  less  than  fifteen  feet  in  length, 
formed  of  four  joints,  the  top  one  lancewood;  and  in  place 
of  rings,  I  prefer  guides  of  aluminum.  A  click  multiplier  is 
the  best  reel.  In  angling  a  stream  of  tangled  brush  margin, 
it  may  be  fished  without  the  bottom  joint  by  tying  on  the 
reel ;  and  in  carrying  the  rod  through  brambles,  it  is  best  to 
unjoint,  leaving  the  line  and  reel  on  when  the  distance  is  only 
from  one  trout  pool  to  another,  or  not  more  than  a  mile.  The 
bait-fisher  is  much  more  eager  in  pursuit  of  his  game  than  is 
the  fly-fisher.  He  threads  his  way  through  thorns  and  bram- 
bles that  appear  impenetrable  to  any  one  but  a  bait-fisher. 
He  prefers  to  wade  the  stream  if  it  be  not -too  deep,  but  he 
permits  nothing  to  prevent  him  from  fishing  all  the  pools. 
He  generally  prefers  to  fish  down  stream,  and  if  he  discovers 
fresh  tracks  of  an  angler  gone  before,  he  will  either  endeavor 
most  adroitly  to  get  before  him,  or  he  will  fish  so  slow  as  to 
let  the  trout  recover  from  the  fright  caused  from  the  disturb- 
ance of  the  waters  by  the  angler  ahead  of  him.  In  the  mean 
time  the  foremost  angler  is  continually  on  the  alert  to  see 
that  no  one  gets  before  him  on  the  stream;  but  if  he  suspects 
an  attempt  to  outflank  him,  he  pretends  to  reel  up  and  pre- 
pare for  home,  when  in  reality  he  is  only  putting  up  his  tackle 
to  make  a  long  detour  and  arrive  at  the  stream  at  a  greater 
distance  below  his  adversary.  The  bait-fisher  does  not — like 
the  fly-fisher — fish  all  the  stream,  but  knows  how  to  judge 
where  the  trout  lie  in  wait  for  bait.  The  fly-fisher  often 
takes  them  from  the  shallow  reefs  before  they  seek  their  hid- 
ing-places, w^here  the  bait-fisher  finds  them.  Bait-fishing  is, 
of  all  field-sports,  the  parent  of  more  patience  and  eager  per- 
severance than  any  other. 


Glokious  intellectual  Musings. 


191 


CHAPTER  IV. 
LESSON  BY  "JOSH  BILLINGS." 

Anglers  with  bait 
are  a  more  queer, 
quaint,  peculiar  class 
of  sportsmen  than  are 
the  devotees  of  the 
fly,  and  they  include 
in  their  class  students 
deeply  read  in  nature 
and  books.  If  you  de- 
sire to  find  an  original 
genius,  you  will  most 
readily  succeed  among 
anglers  with  bait,  who 
use  primitive  rods  and 
tackle,  and  follow  the 
streams  solitary  and 
silent,  in  a  meditative 
mood,  enjoying  the 
sights  and  sounds,  of 
nature  unmolested  by  the  presence  of  the  less  contemplative 
fly-fisher,  or  the  worshiper  of  dog  and  gun.  Such  a  one  Josli 
Billings  appears  to  be,  with  his  coat  buttoned  on  the  wrong 
side,  if  his  writings  are' any  index  to  the  man.  His  lesson  is 
included  in  the  following  original  verse : 

"  Whare  the  dul  stream 
Haz  fatted  tew  a  pulp 
The  sooty  arth, 

Go  seek  the  dark-skinned  alder 
(A  tiny  forest), 

And  from  the  crowded  growth 
Selekt  a  slender  wand. 


192         ■        Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Tru  tapering^from  base  to  pinnakel, 

Four  yards  in  length. 

Bee  it  thy  care 

Smoothly  the  bark  tew  cleave  from  awl  the  pole 

Save  near  the  springy  top. 

Thare  leave  the  natiff  kivver  two  feet  or  more ; 

Haply  thus  the  game  no  fear  will  hav 

When  thwart  the  brook  yu  stretch  the  reed." 

Anglers  will  agree  that  "  Josh"  has  studied  both  the  rod 
and  the  habits  of  trout,  for  he  describes  what  a  fishing-rod 
should  be  for  general  use  in  angling  along  a  stream  where 
reels  and  jointed  rods  are  scarcely  ever  seen.  The  favorite 
baits  for  such  anglers  are,  1st,  angle- worms,  or  common  earth- 
worms, kept  in  moss  a  day  to  scour,  and  then  sometimes 
sprinkled  with  milk  to  feed  them,  and  still  not  to  darken  their 
color ;  2d,  the  white  grub-Vorm,  found  in  great  numbers  by 
splitting  decayed  logs  of  soft  maple  or  cherry ;  3d,  the  shiner 
of  the  brook ;  4th,  the  grasshopper.  The  two  latter  baits  are 
preferred  by  members  of  highest  rank  in  the  profession;  and 
in  lieu  of  the  shiner,  when  near  the  coast,  they  use  smelt  and 
spearing  with  nearly  equal  success. 

THE    ARDENT   ANGLER. 

Our  wide  acres  and  free  streams  are  ^vorable  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  liberal,  poetical,  and  artistic  ideas,  and  I  select  the 
following  verse  from  a  poem  by  a  gifted  student  at  painting 
and  the  fine  art  of  angling : 

"We  break  from  the  tree-groups,  a  glade  deep  with  grass  ; 
The  white  clover's  breath  loads  the  sense  as  we  pass. 
A  sparkle — a  streak — a  broad  glitter  is  seen, 
The  bright  Callikoon  through  its  thickets  of  green  I 
We  rush  to  the  banks — its  sweet  music  we  hear ; 
Its  gush,  dash,  and  gurgle  all  blent  to  the  ear. 
No  shadows  are  drawn  by  the  cloud-covered  sun, 
We  plunge  in  the  crystal,  our  sport  is  begun. 
Our  line,  where  that  ripple  shoots  onward,  we  throw ; 
It  sweeps  to  the  foam-spangled  eddy  below ;     • 
A  tremor — a  pull — the  trout  upward  is  thrown, 
He  swings  to  our  basket — the  prize  is  our  own !" 

Alfred  B.  Street. 


The  Hakmony  of  Nature. 


193 


The  akdent  Angler. 


I 


I  have  also  seen  excellent  fly-fishers  with  such  an  extem- 
porized rod  as  Josh  Billings  recommends.  On  Pine  Creek, 
in  Pennsylvania,  anglers  who  fish  for  a  livelihood  use  such  a 
rod,  and  fish  with  only  one  clumsily-tied  fly.  They  wade  the 
stream — which  is  a  good  plan  to  avoid  meeting  rattlesnakes 
— and  to  a  string  tied  over  the  left  shoulder  and  under  the 
left  arm  they  attach  their  fish,  and  tow  them  along  as  they 
angle  down  the  stream.  On  some  days  they  take  from  thirty 
to  fifty  pounds  -of  trout.  On  Trout  Run,  a  tributary  to  Ly- 
cominsc  Creek,  the  best  native  an  oilers  use  a  rod  formed  of 
two  hickory  joints  lashed  together,  and  a  top  joint  of  whale- 
bone lashed  on — whole  length  about  nine  feet.  They  fish 
down  stream,  wading  the  middle  of  the  creek  where  not  too 
deeji,  and  casting  right  and  left  some  forty  feet,  under  boughs 
which  barely  clear  the  water,  bringing  out  large  prismatic 
beauties  at  nearly  every  cast  with  a  single  fly  of  domestic 
make.  They  do  this  where  gentlemen  amateurs,  from  all 
I^arts  of  the  country,  find  it  extremely  diflicult  to  get  a  rise 
to  their  superior  flies,  though  presented  with  the  best  make 

N 


194:  Fishing  IN  American  Waters. 

of  split  bamboo  rod,  handled  by  expert  anglers.  The  natives 
tie  on  their  click  reel ;  and  for  guides  and  top,  use  loops  of 
leather  or  raw-hide.   , 

Reprenons  notre  Discours. — Of  bait-fishing  nothing  seems 
more  simple  to  the  uninitiated  than  to  be  able  successfully 
to  angle  with  a  worm.  Mere  urchins  have  succeeded  with  a 
rough  stick,  linen  line,  and  clumsy  hook,  more  clumsily  tied 
on,  and  covered  with  a  worm,  in  landing  a  goodly-sized  fish. 
But  this  is  a  mere  matter  of  luck,  and  it  would  be  absurd  to 
classify  the  performance  among  the  efforts  of  scientific  bait- 
anglers. 

Entertaining,  as  I  really  do,  great  respect  for  many  bait- 
fishers  of  trout,  I  the  more  cheerfully  present  the  following 
opinion  from  the  genial  angler  and  man  of  genius,  Thomas 
Tod  Stoddart,  whose  "  Companion"  and  *"  Anglers'  Rambles 
and  Songs"  have  afibrded  me  so  much  pleasure  and  instruc- 
tion: 

"  It  may  perhaps  startle  some,  and  those  no  novices  in  the 
art,  when  I  declare,  and  offer  nioreover  to  prove,  that  worm- 
fishing  for  trout  requires  essentially  more  address  and  expe- 
rience, as  well  as  better  knowledge  of  the  habits  and  instincts 
of  the  fish,  than  fly-fishing."  He  does  not  refer  to  the  prac- 
tice followed  in  brooks  and  petty  streams,  nor  as  pursued 
after  heavy  rains  in  discolored  waters,  and  goes  on  to  say : 
"My  affirmation  bears  solely  on  its  practice  as  carried  on 
during  the  summer  months  in  Scotland,  when  the  waters  are 
clear  and  low,  the  skies  bright  and  warm.  Then  it  is,  and 
then  only,  that  it  ought  to  be  dignified  as  sport ;  and  sport 
it  assuredly  is,  fully  as  exciting,  perhaps  more  so  than  angling 
with  the  fly  or  minnow." 

As  I  agree  in  the  method  recommended  by  this  teacher,  I 
will  give  its  principal  features,  and  leave  with  the  angler  to 
decide  in  his  course  of  practice  between  us.  "  The  rod  should 
approach  seventeen  feet  in  length,  but  light,  top  pieces  some- 
what stiff,  of  lance  or  hickory." 

The  common  trou ting-line  of  stained  silk  and  hair,  tapering 


Rig  for  Bait-fishing.  195 

from  the  middle  to  each  end,  a§  sold  by  our  fishing-tackle 
men,  is  the  best.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  ordinary  click 
reel,  though  it  were  better  did  it  multiply.  "  The  casting- 
line  of  silk -worm  gut  should  be  well  tapered,  and  seven 
lengths  of  long  single  gut,  tinged  rather  than  dyed  with  the 
ordinary  decoction  of  logwood  and  alum.  The  knots  should 
be  tied  with  care,  but  not  whipped  with  thread — an  operation 
which  should  be  confined  solely  to  the  upper  joints  of  the 
line.  They  ought  to  be  of  picked  material,  sound,  clear,  and 
fine,  without  flaw  or  fretting." 

Hooks  should  be  of  finest  steel,  needle-pointed,  and  either 
the  common  Aberdeen  round  bend,  Hutchinson's  round  bend, 
Sproat's  bend,  or  the  Kinsey  bend,  known  as  the  Pennsylva- 
nia trout-hook.  "  Before  attaching  the  snell  or  gut,  file  and 
break  ofl"  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch  of  the  shank,  which 
is  usually  too  long."  This  I  have  found  best  with  hooks  for 
small  striped  bass,  which  weigh  each  from  half  a  pound  to 
three  pounds.  Tie  on  the  hooks  with  red  silk,  well  waxed. 
"Some  worm-fishers  of  celebrity  adopt  a  small  projection  of 
gut  or  bristle,  as  in  the  tackle  used  for  the  stone  fly,"  etc. 

Sinkers  should  be  made  of  split  shot,  from  all  sizes  between 
pigeon  and  buck  shot,  according  to  the  tide  or  current,  or 
by  winding  sheet-lead  round  the  line  a  foot  or  more  above 
the  hook.  The  bait  should  play  under  water,  be  kept  mov- 
.  ing,  and  never  allowed  to  sink  to  the  bottom  or  float  on  the 
surface ;  and  when  the  current  is  swift,  shot  should  be  dis- 
tributed above  the  regular  sinker  on  the  casting-line. 

The  best  bait-anglers  seldom  use  a  float;  when  they  do  it 
is  very  small,  only  large  enough  to  float  the  lightest  sinker 
that  will^ answer  for  the  water.  Casts  shduld  be  regularly 
made,  and  the  bait  kept  moving  as  if  it  were  a  fly  under  wa- 
ter ;  or  if  in  the  current  of  a  stream,  should  be  made  to  move 
with  the  current,  as  if  there  were  no  hook  in  it.  The  head 
of  the  worm  should  be  broken  off*,  and  the  hook  so  baited 
with  the  remainder  as  to  leave  an  inch  of  the  tail  free  to  play 
naturally. 


196  Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 

Of  the  varieties  of  angle-worm,  that  with  rings,  from  five 
to  six  inches  long,  and  about  the  size  of  a  wheat-straw,  is  the 
best.  Place  the  lot  dug  for  fishing  in  cold  water  a  little  salt- 
ed, and  leave  them  in  five  minutes ;  then  take  them  out,  and 
place  them  on  a  dry  board  for  ten  minutes.  To  farther  scour 
them,  place  them  in  swamp-moss  which  is  damp,  but  not 
wringing  wet ;  let  them  remain  over  night,  and  next  morning- 
go  a-fishing. 

The  grub-worm  is  best  in  streams  after  a  shower,  because, 
being  white,  it  shows  best  in  discolored  water.  But  the  best 
bait  of  all  for  trout,  to  my  notion,  is  a  live  shiner.  Large 
trout  will  take  it  in  preference  to  any  other  bait.  As  trout 
do  not  usually  bite  freely  previous  to  a  shower,  it  is  best  to 
bait-fish  in  the  rain,  or  just  after  it  has  ceased.  Fish  know 
by  instinct  when  it  is  going  to  rain,  and  they  fast  until  it  be- 
gins, because  they  expect  the  rain  to  swell  the  stream  and 
bring  down  to  them  all  sorts  of  delicacies ;  therefore,  as  soon 
as  it  commences  to  rain,  they  take  any  thing  offered  which 
they  can  swallow. 

It  is  the  angler's  duty  and  pleasure  to  study  all  the  pecu- 
liarities of  weather,  with  the  habits  and  haunts  of  trout,  and 
to  practice  upon  them;  for  as  the  bait-fisher  does  not  usu- 
ally whip  all  the  surface  of  the  water,  but  selects  his  places 
to  drop  his  bait,  it  is  necessary  to  know  on  which  side  of  a 
rock  or  log  it  is  natural  for  the  trout  to  lie  in  wait  for  bait. 
The  successful  bait-angler  studies  also  the  condition  of  the 
water,  and  selects  his  favorite  pools,  while  the  fly-fisher  looks 
for  a  gentle  wind  that  will  carry  his  flies  off",  and  trusts  to  his 
skill  and  good  fortune  for  attracting  sport. 

Fly-fishing  possesses  its  peculiar  advantages.  As  a  means 
of  exercise,  it  reaches  just  the  degree  to  brace  the  muscles,  ex- 
ercise the  temper,  enliven  the  spirits,  and  produce  the  alter- 
nations between  hope  and  despair  characterized  as  sport.  It 
encourages  fine  address  and  graceful  attitudes,  produces  ear- 
nestness and  even  enthusiasm,  and  while  the  practice  in  minu- 
tiae is  not  so  close  as  to  pin  the  mind  to  earth,  every  sound  of 


Alone  with  Nature. 


197 


bird  oi'  sight  of  flower  is  enjoyed  by  the  devotee,  and  as  lie 
casts  his  eyes  aloft  and  around,  the  earth  appears  a  paradise, 
and  anglers  the  only  appreciative  recipients  of  its  blessings. 
Hence,  from  the  variety  of  emotions  which  entrance  the  mind 
of  the  angler,  men  of  genius  and  learning,  especially  those  of 
ideal  temperament,  such  as  poets,  painters,  sculptors,  philoso- 
phers, and  worshipers  of  nature,  become  so  penetrated  with 
the  beauties  which  surround  its  pursuit,  that  the  cold,  calcu- 
lating outer  world  deems  them  mad  upon  a  trivial  subject. 
But  it  was  owing  solely  to  the  pleasures  which  angling  con- 
fers that  Thomson,  Bums,  Scott,  Hogg,  and  a  host  of  other 
acknowledged  worthies,  succeded  by  Prof.  Wilson,  Words- 
worth, King  Leopold,  Dr.  Bethune,  and  Daniel  Webster,  ea- 
gerly exchanged  the  gray  goose-quill  and  the  fellowship  of 
books  for  the  gently-tapering  trout-rod  and  the  music  of  the 
rills  and  cascades,  older  than  the  rhythm  of  Homer,  and  as  at- 
tractive as  the  propositions  of  Socrates.  "  Therefore  it  was 
that  Paley  left  his  meditative  home,  and  Davy  his  tests  and 
crucibles,  Chantrey  his  moulds,  models,  and  chisel-work — each 
and  all  to  rejoice  and  renovate  themselves,"  and  to  fish  up* 
new  ideas  as  with  the  gentle  wand  they  cast  their  lines  in 
pleasant  places,  playing  trout  in  sparkling  waters,  and  enjoy- 
ing a  sportive  recreation  which  ever  fills  the  mind  with  pure 
and  joyous  emotions,  tempered  by  serene  philosophy. 


198 


Fishing  in  American  Wateks. 


SECTION  SECOND. 

angling  for  children. 

'  Come  when  the  leaf  comes,  angle  with  me, 
Come  when  the  bee  comes  crossing  the  lea ; 
Come  with  the  wild  flowers, 
Come  with  the  mild  showers, 
•Come  when  the  singing  bird  calleth  for  thee !" 

Stoddart. 

TRANGE !  I  sometimes  involun- 
tarily ejaculate  when  I  see 
people  economize  the  necessa- 
ries of  life  in  order  to  be  able 
to  support  a  carriage  and  dress 
the  family  fancifully,  to  take 
them  on  a  drive  in  the  country 
over  dusty  roads  as  an  airing 
and  exercise  for  the  promotion 
of  health. 

Of  course,  exercise  in  the 
open  air  is  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  good  health; 
and  a  residence  in  a  city  where 
the  only  breathing-places  are 
its  parks,  or  in  the  few  country 
places  which  are  remote  from 
waters  that  offer  the  recreation 
of  angling,  there  is  an  excuse 
for  the  next  means  in  the  sim- 
ple catalogue  for  promoting 
and  preserving  health,  which  is 
driving  or  riding  on  horseback. 
But  in  our  country  of  broad 
acres  and  free  fishings,  every 
parent  should  teach  his  children  to  angle.  The  sport,  which 
is  not  laborious,  soon  renders  the  young  student  so  ardent  m 
its  pursuit  that  he  will  get  sufficient  exercise,  while  his  mind 


Tempering  youthful  Ambition.  199 

will  be  rendered  logical  by  the  realization  of  cause  and  effect, 
and  his  whole  being  will  soon  become  attuned  to  the  harmo- 
nies of  nature.  The  pleasurable,  exercise  and  anxieties  in  the 
practice  of  angling  rest  and  recuperate  the  mind,  so  that 
children  are  thereby  enabled  to  commit  their  school  lessons 
to  memory  with  greater  ease,  and  to  understand  them  more 
fully. 

A  small  stream  to  angle  in  from  the  shore,  or  a  pond  to 
row  out  on  and  anchor  the  boat  to  fish  from,  is  a  great  lux- 
ury which  a  family  should  not  omit  the  enjoyment  of.  I  have 
noticed  with  pleasure  that  the  taste  for  angling  has  been  in- 
creasing annually  for  the  past  ten  years  with  our  ladies.  They 
begin  to  delight  in  fishing  excursions  and  in  the  harmony  of 
angling.  There  is,  therefore,  hope  of  a  large  crop  of  anglers 
from  the  rising  generation.  Twenty  years  ago  there  were 
scarcely  a  dozen  ladies  in  the  metropolis  who  could  scull  a 
boat,  but  now  many  ladies  ply  a  pair  of  sculls  very  grace- 
fully. With  those  families  settled  near  the  shores  of  the 
numerous  water  approaches  to  New  York,  and  along  Har- 
lem River,  the  taste  is  setting  in  favor  of  light,  buoyant,  com- 
fortable, and  elegant  row-boats ;  and  morning  and  evening, 
these  boats,  laden  with  joyous  families  of  children,  lend  an 
enlivening  charm  to  the  scene. 

Sometimes  papa  and  mamma  take  the  children  a-fishing. 
Whenever  they  do,  they  should  supply  them  with  a  light 
bamboo  rod,  and  attach  at  a  joint  one  third  from  the  top  end 
a  very  fine  silk  or  linen  line ;  wind  it  a  few  times  round  the 
rod,  and  cast  two  half  hitches  over  the  top  end ;  then  afiix  a 
float  according  to  the  depth  of  the  water,  so  that  the  bait  will 
sink  within  six  inches  of  the  bottom,  and  a  foot  above  the 
hook  fasten  to  the  line  from  one  to  three  split  shot.  Let  the 
hook  be  the  minnow  size,  and  the  bait — a  piece  of  angle-worm 
dug  the  day  previous,  and  laid  in  moss  or  green  grass  over 
night  to  scour,  if  for  small  fresh-water  fishes — should  merely 
cover  the  point  of  the  hook.  Never  bait  with  the  head  of 
the  worm ;  always  break  that  off  and  throw  it  in  the  water. 


200  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Sometimes  it  is  best  to  take  an  extra  supply  of  worms,  and 
cut  some  of  them  into  small  pieces  and  throw  them  into  the 
fishing-pool  to  attract  the  fishes  to  the  place  where  you  in- 
tend angling.  The  liver  of  any  animal  is  good  bait  for  sun- 
fish,  shiners,  chubs,  dace,  etc.  If  angling  in  salt-water  for 
Avhite  perch,  smelt,  spearing,  porgees,  and  tomcods,  use  shrimp 
for  bait ;  or,  if  they  can  not  be  procured,  use  either  soft  or 
hard  shell  clam.  Rig  the  line  with  only  one  hook,  and  let 
papa  regulate  the  whole  tackle  according  to  the  size  of  the 
fishes  to  be  angled  for. 

Oh !  well  do  I  remember  the  time  when  I  first  essayed  to 
capture  the  finny  beauties  of  the  brook.  I  was  about  seven 
years  old,  and  as  my  father,  who  was  devoted  to  educational 
pursuits,  had  found  both  recreation  and  consolation  in  an- 
gling, he  used  sometimes  to  permit  me  to  accompany  him 
and  carry  his  strings  of  trout,  and  finally  rigged  me  out  with 
a  wand,  line,  and  hook.  The  first  fish  that  I  caught  was  a 
shiner.  The  sensation  caused  by  the  bite  of  the  fish,  and  the 
sight  of  the  trembling  and  shining  beauty  as  I  cast  it  over 
my  head,  and  when  realizing,  by  running  to  my  hook  and 
learning  that  I  had  actually  caught  it,  were  moments  as  in- 
describable as  they  were  ecstatic.  I  was  anxious  to  return 
home  at  once  and  show  the  trophy  to  the  family,  and  was 
not  dissuaded  until  my  larger  comrades  pointed  out  the  pos- 
sibility of  my  taking  a  long  strmg  of  such  jewels. 

After  practicing  a  season  with  this  light  tackle,  it  will  be 
best  to  procure  regular  perch-tackle,  and  the  next  season  a 
reel  and  trout-rod  may  be  added  to  the  outfit.  Then  grass- 
hoppers will  be  found  the  favorite  bait  for  trout  and  young 
black  bass,  and  small  shiners  and  white  grub-worms  will  be 
found  most  attractive  after  a  shower  for  large  trout,  black 
bass,  perch,  and  now  and  then  a  sand  pickerel,  which  some  of 
the  fishermen  call  doree.  The  lad  will  soon  learn  that  the 
most  rapturous  sport  is  realized  along  a  stream  and  among 
the  birds  as  they  chirp  and  sing  while  flitting  from  spray  to 
spray,  for  they  rightly  regard  the  young  angler  as  a  friend, 


First  Sense  of  Cause  and  Effect. 


201 


and  so  neaiTy  a  companion  that  they  vie  with  each  other  in 
melody  to  charm  him  on. 

After  tea  both  mamma  and  papa  .take  a  seat  with  the  chil- 
dren in  the  punt,  when  papa  rows  out  on  the  pond  and  an- 
chors the  punt,  and  then  baits  the  hooks  and  takes  off  the 
fish.  This  is  the  contemplative  philosopher's  recreation.  It 
is  simple,  innocent,  and  charming. 

"Delicious  musings  fill  the  heart,  and  images  of  bliss ; 
Ah!  that  all  pictures  of  the  past  were  innocent  as  this!" 

"Like  distant  music — heard  at  even, 
When  the  gold  light  has  left  the  dying  day — 
Which,  like  some  spirit  song  from  heaven, 
Swells  softly,  then  as  softly  dies  away ; 
Yet  dieth  not  away  within  the  soul, 
But  leaves  a  soothing  influence  behind, 
That  oft  will  in  our  thoughtful  hours  control 
The  grosser,  worldly  cares  that  crowd  the  mind — 
Just  so  the  thoughts  of  dearest  friends  will  steal 
Over  the  pensive  soul  with  fond  reflections. 
And,  waking  slumbering  chords  of  love,  reveal 
Those  hidden  ties  that  bind  our  best  affections  ; 
And — goodness  gracious,  bless  me ! — what  a  deal 
Of  good  it  does  to  have  such  recollections !" — C.  Bede. 


202  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


The  Salmon. — Sabno  salar. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    SALMON. 

This  is  the  head  of  a  numerous  species,  or  rather  of  many 
families.  The  body  is  covered  with  fine  scales ;  the  fins  are 
all  soft-rayed  except  the  second  dorsal,  which  is  composed  of 
a  soft  adipose  film.  It  has  an  air-bladder  which  extends  the 
whole  length  of  the  abdomen. 

The  genus  Salmo  contains  those  species,  such  as  the  salmon 
and  trout,  in  which  the  upper  jaw  is  formed  by  the  superior 
maxillary  bones — the  intermaxillaries  being  small — situated 
between  the  maxillaries.  Usually  these  bones  descend  into 
the  front  of  the  superior  maxillaries,  and  form  the  upper 
boundary  of  the  mouth.  The  maxillaries,  palatines,  vomer, 
and  even  the  tongue,  are  furnished  with  teeth.  ,  The  bran- 
chiostegous,  or  gill  rays,  are  about  ten  in  number. 

Numerous  species  of  this  genus  are  found  in  the  seas  of  the 
northern  hemisphere,  one  of  the  largest  of  which  is  the  com- 
mon salmon  (Salmo  salar. — Lin.),  a  fish  too  well  known,  both 
as  to  flavor  and  appearance,  to  require  particular  description. 
Cuvier  states  that  it  is  found  in  all  the  arctic  seas,  whence  it 
enters  the  rivers  in  the  spring. 

The  Salmo  salar,  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  Isles 
appropriately  distinguish  as  both  "  noble"  and  "  roval,"  be- 
cause it  is  the  fish  which  affords  them  their  highest  degree 
of  sport  in  angling,  according  to  their  estimate  of  the  value 
of  field-sports,  has  been  differently  esteemed  for  its  esculent 
qualities  at  several  periods  in  modem  history,  though  at  no 


Anglers  the  true  friends  of  the  Salmon.      203 

time  have  its  gamy  qualities  been  questioned;  In  the  eight- 
eenth century  its  shoals  became  so  numerous  as  to  make  it 
necessary  to  guard,  by  a  clause  in  indentures,  against  feed- 
ing apprentices  with  it  more  than  two  days  in  each  week. 
This  was  the  case  in  England  and  in  some  of  its  colonies. 
But  from  many  of  our  rivers,  which  teemed  with  salmon  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  this  delicious  and  grace- 
ful fish  has  been  driven  away ;  and  were  it  not  that — through 
the  efforts  of  a  few  angling  philosophers — the  public  has  be- 
come sufficiently  enlightened  to  see  the  necessity  for  the  em- 
ployment of  means  to  restock  our  salmon  rivers,  it  would  be 
scarcely  worth  the  time  and  ink  necessary  to  describe  the 
salmon  in  its  varied  aspects  for  the  table,  for  commerce,  and 
as  an  interesting  feature  in  the  recreative  sports  of  the  coun- 
try. 

But,  thanks  to  a  few  public-spirited  gentlemen,  whose  sci- 
entific discoveries  were  derivpd  from  experiments  instituted 
at  their  own  expense,  the  recent  reports  of  the  Fisheries  Com- 
missioners of  New  England  show  that  the  waters  are  being 
restocked  with  such  zeal  and  alacrity  that  it  will  not  be  more 
than  five  years  before  most  of  the  rivers  north  of  Pennsylva- 
nia will  be  literally  repeopled  with  salmon.  The  favorable 
prospects  thus  extended,  when  coupled  with  the  generosity 
of  our  Northern  neighbors,  whereby  the  Dominion  permits  us 
to  compete  equally  with  its  own  people  in  the  leasing  of  Ca- 
nadian salmon-waters,  gives  hopeful  promise  that  salmon-fish- 
ing with  the  fly  will  soon  engage  the  attention  of  our  anglers 
for  striped  bass  during  June  and  July,  and  thus  add  an  inter- 
esting feature  to  the  sports  of  the  year,  without  trenching 
upon  the  best  season  for  striped-bass  angling. 

The  Highlander  who  stated  that  "  no  man  has  any  right  to 
a  hunter's  badge  who  has  not  killed  a  red  deer,  an  eagle,  a 
salmon,  and  a  seal,"  had  never  been  in  America,  or  he  would 
have  made  some  additions  to  his  prerequisites.  If  it  exhilar- 
ates and  even  astonishes  to  take  a  salmon  in  the  modest  riv- 
ers of  the  British  Isles,  with  gaffers  as  helpers,  who  know 


204  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

every  cast  in  a  pool,  what  must  the  sport  be  on  the  large, 
wild,  and  rapid  rivers  of  Canada,  with  no  adequate  help  ? 

Since  we  have  no  other  choice,  if  we  would  go  a  salmon- 
fishing,  but  to  repair  either  to  Scotland,  Ireland,  or  to  the  Do- 
minion of  Canada,  and  as  several  rivers  in  Canada  are  leased 
by  American  anglers,  and  all  sportsmen  from  the  States  are 
liberally  and  even  courteously  treated  there,  I  should  give  a 
preference  to  Canadian  salmon-waters  over  those  across  the 
Atlantic,  even  were  the  fishings  oifered  at  the  same  price; 
but  in  the  matter  of  expense,  Canada  is  much  the  most  eco- 
nomical for  our  anglers.  The  fish  are  also  much  larger  on  this 
side  on  an  average,  the  scenery  is  more  majestic,  and  the  riv- 
ers more  grand.  To  spend  a  summer  month  on  one  of  the  riv- 
ers which  empty  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence is  to  rest  the  mind  by  the  most  absolute  exclusion  from 
the  world.  When  I  essayed  the  ascent  of  one  of  the  great 
rivers  which  empty  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  north  of  the 
island  of  Anticosti,  the  world  was  tranquil.  I  rested  there 
free  from  the  news  of  civilization.  For  a  month  I  admired 
the  grandeur  of  the  mountains,  the  majesty  of  the  broad  and 
rapid  river,  the  elegant  play  of  salmon,  and  the  dexterity  of 
the  seals ;  and  at  night  the  brilliancy  of  the  northern  horizon 
and  gorgeousness  of  the  lunar  bow  enraptured  me.  On  my 
return  down  the  river,  I  was  astonished  to  hear  that  a  great 
war  was  in  progress  between  Prussia  and  Austria,  and  that 
the  cholera  was  raging  in  many  places ;  but  I  was  delight- 
fully surprised  to  learn  that  the  Atlantic  telegraph  was  in 
successful  operation,  though  shocked  at  hearing  of  the  dead- 
lock in  Washington  and  the  intention  to  impeach  the  Presi- 
dent. Neither  of  these  important  topics  were  spoken  of  when 
I  left  New  York  to  visit  the  wilderness  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  I  therefore  advise  those  who  de- 
sire to  unbend  the  mind  and  become  perfectly  Rip  Van  Win- 
klefied,  to  try  the  rejuvenating  effect  of  salmon-fishing  in 
Canada. 

Anglers  of  the  LTnited  States  who  desire  to  fish  a  salmon- 


I 


Pkepaking  to  Start  for  Salmon.  205 

er  in  the  dominion  of  Canada  should  club  together  and 
apply  for  the  fluvial  parts  of  rivers.  The  estuary  is  usually 
devoted  to  net-fishing,  but  it  would  be  a  better  plan  to  apply 
for  a  whole  river,  and  then  have  the  estuary  netted  if  prefer- 
red, or  devote  the  whole  river  to  fly-fishing.  As  salmon  do 
not  rise  to  the  fly  in  the  tidal  parts  of  rivers,  if  the  river  is 
well  stocked,  the  company  might  have  the  tidal  part  netted 
with  sweep-nets  to  a  certain  extent,  but  gill-nets  and  othei- 
nets  fastened  to  ground  fixtures  should  be  avoided.  A  party 
of  four  gentlemen  own  the  lease  of  the  Godbout,  and  permit 
no  netting.  It  is  contrary  to  law  to  fish  on  Sunday  in  any 
part  of  Canada.  The  government  leases  the  rivers  for  a  term 
of  nine  years,  and  the  rivers  unlet  on  the  first  day  of  each 
year  are  advertised  by  the  government  to  be  let  to  the  high- 
est bidders.  The  places  of  residence  of  those  tendering  for 
fishings  are  not  considered  in  letting  a  river,  and  if  a  gentle- 
man of  the  States  overbids  a  Canadian,  the  river  will  be  de- 
clared as  his.  Rivers  are  therefore  hired  by  Europeans  as 
well  as  by  Canadians  and  citizens  of  the  States.  Prior  to  the 
formation  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  out  of  the  provinces, 
the  salmon-rivers  were  under  the  control  of  the  Minister  of 
Crown  Lands;  but  now  they  are  managed  by  the  Minister 
of  Marine  and  Fisheries,  at  present  the  Hon.  Peter  Mitchell, 
to  whom  all  applications  should  be  made  for  leases  of  rivers. 
Rivers  are  either  let  in  whole  or  in  parts,  each  part  permit- 
ting the  use.  of  a  given  number  of  rods,  generally  four.  The 
fluvial  part  of  the  Moisie,  for  example,  is  divided  into  three 
fishings,  the  estuary  being  hired  for  fishing  with  nets.  The 
other  two  parts  accommodate  eight  rods.  Parties,  on  making 
application  to  the  Hon.  P.  Mitchell,  at  Ottawa,  should  state 
what  number  of  rods  they"  desire  to  accommodate,  and  on 
which  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence  they  prefer  a  river.  He  will 
then  forward  the  applicants  a  list  of  the  rivers  to  be  let,  with 
such  other  information  as  he  may  deem  necessary  for  their 
guidance.  After  receiving  the  list  of  rivers  and  a  note  of  in- 
formation, they  should  apply  to  some  gentleman  of  the  Do- 


206  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

minion  to  make  the  tender  for  them.  If  necessary,  on  appli- 
cation, I  will  name  a  suitable  person  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment to  whom  they  may  apply  with  confidence. 

The  course  which  I  recommend  to  gentlemen  of  the  States 
is  pursued  by  sportsmen  of  Canada.  The  prices  for  the  flu- 
vial parts  of  rivers  are  very  modest.  I  belonged  to  a  party 
of  four  anglers  who  hired  the  whole  of  the  fluvial  part  of  a 
first-class  river  for  three  hundred  dollars  for  a  single  season. 
The  leases  of  fluvial  parts  of  rivers  vary  from  two  to  six  hun- 
dred dollars  a  year  for  from  three  to  eight  rods;  and  the 
price  for  guides  or  gafifers  is  a  dollar  a  day.  Canoes  and  pro- 
visions are  cheap  there ;  a  first-rate  canoe  may  be  purchased 
for  from  twelve  to  fifteen  dollars ;  and  as  for  desiccated  meats 
and  canned  vegetables,  with  potatoes  and  eggs,  also  wines 
and  difiusible  stimulants,  they  do  not  cost  more  than  half  the 
sum  demanded  for  them  in  the  States.  Then,  as  an  econom-  _ 
ical  summer  trip  of  a  month  or  six  weeks,  the  cost  is  less  than 
the  expense  of  staying  at  a  watering-place  hotel,  which  is 
similar  to  a  city  hotel  minus  its  comforts.  If  the  lovers  of 
field-sports  in  the  United  States  can  but  be  induced  to  try 
salmon-fishing,  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  rivers  in  the 
States  will  teem  with  the  silver  beauties.  I  have  before  me 
a  score  of  five  weeks'  fishing  in  the  Godbout  lor  four  rods. 
The  total  count  was  279  salmon,  weighing  3116  pounds,  or  the 
average  weight  of  each  fish  11 J  pounds.  They  did  not  aver- 
age the  use  of  more  than  three  rods  daily,  or  more  than  five 
days  each  week.  I  have  seen  larger  takes,  but  this  is  a  high 
score  for  salmon-fishing  in  any  part  of  the  world. 

As  I  have  stated,  an  application  to  hire  the  fluvial  or  an- 
gling part  of  a  salmon-river  from  the  government  of  the  Do- 
minion is  to  be  for  the  term  of  nine  years,  and  the  prices  of 
the  rivers  must  necessarily  advance  as  anglers  multiply  in 
numbers  and  America  increases  in  wealth ;  for  salmon-fish- 
ing, on  the  list  of  recreations  which  most  deeply  interest  cul- 
tivated men,  is  esteemed  a  high  art. 


To  Kenew  our  Youth.  iOT 

SECTION  SECOND. 
outfit  foe  salmon-fishing. 

1  tent,  either  a  marquee,  wall-tent,  or  a  common  circular 
tent. 

2  rubber  blankets. 
2  head-nets. 

1  musquito-bar. 

1  pair  wading  trowsers,  water-proof  and  large. 

1  water-proof  overcoat,  large  and  light. 

1  oil-cloth  coat  and  pants,  to  wear  when  fishing  in  the  rain. 

2  pairs  of  pegged  army  shpes  for  wading. 
6        "       heavy  woolen  half  hose. 

1  pair  of  heavy  woolen  blankets. 

1  rubber  bag,  large  size. 

1  rubber  pillow. 

1  pint  aqua  ammonia^  for  applying  to  bites  of  black  flies, 
for  preventing  the  secondary  effect  of  swelling. 

1  small  case  of  medicines. 

To  guard  against  being  bitten  by  black  flies  and  musqui- 
toes,  carry  a  bottle  of  castor-oil  mixed  with  a  strong  tincture 
of  camphor.  Some  salmon-anglers  employ  a  composition  of 
tar  and  camphor,  which  gives  them  the  tawny  tint  of  the  In- 
dian, though  it  is  one  of  the  best  protections  against  flies. 
The  black  fly  is  the  worst  during  daytime,  while  the  musqui- 
toes  and  gnats  begin  their  depredations  at  sundotvn  and  con- 
tinue until  sunrise.  Your  gaffer  should  fumigate  your  tent 
every  night  before  you  retire  with  a  smudge  smoke.  Both 
the  head-net  and  musquito-bar  should  be  used  every  night. 

For  constant  wear,  day  and  night,  supply  yourself  with  a 
pair  of  woolen  gloves  extending  near  to  the  elbows,  worn 
over  the  coat  sleeve  and  held  up  by  an  elastic  str^p ;  or  sew 
a  pair  of  cotton  stocking-legs  to  the  wrists  of  a  pair  of  gloves, 
either  dogskin,  buckskin,  or  close  and  thick  woolen  gloves. 

A  trip  to  Canada  for  salmon-fishing  would  be  the  gem  of 
the  year  for  all  anglers,  and  pven  summer  excursionists,  were 


208  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

it  not  for  the  flies ;  yet  they  are  no  worse  there  than  they  arc 
in  the  Adirondacks,  nor  so  bad  as  they  are  in  the  wilds  of 
Maine  and  New  Hampshire. 

A  fishing-hat  like  No.  1  is  formed  of  two  parts,  like  2  and 
3,  the  latter  setting  on  the  band  of  2  so  that  the  vents  will 
not  meet,  but  the  outer  ones  alternate  with  the  Tinder  ones 
just  above  the  brim.  The  edge  of  3  is  tacked  down  on  the 
brim,  which  leaves  a  space  between  that  and  the  upright  part 
of  2  of  half  an  inch  or  more,  and  cover  the  sewing  to  the 
brim  with  a  band.  The  ventilation  of  this  hat  is  excellent. 
The  hat  is  known  by  name  as  the  Gibraltar  hat,  while  others 
call  it  the  Calcutta  hat.  It  is  usually  made  of  drab  felt,  and 
worn  as  an  undress  hat  by  European  military  oflicers  when 
doing  duty  in  warm  climates.  It  is  unquestionably  the  best 
ventilated  hat  made,  except  those  from  India,  woven  from 
grass  or  platted  from  bamboo ;  but  the  felt  ones  are  the  best 
in  shape,  and  lighter  than  the  real  Indian  hat. 


7 
Fishing-hat  and  !Salmon-koi>. 


2  Salmon  Rods. — The  salmon-rod  of  four  joints  is  indica- 
ted by  No^.  4,  5,  6,  7.  The  two  upper  joints  are  spliced  with 
a  small  ring  covering  the  end  of  each,  as  directed  for  the 
modern  splice  illustrated  on  another  page.  The  following 
explanation  I  think  worthy  the  attention  of  fly-fishers : 


An  excellent  Kod.  .    209 

"Sir, — Not  the  least  pleasure  of  the  angler  consists  in 
looking  back  upon  the  summer-time  when  he  'wandered 
dreamily  away  up  among  the  hills  by  the  side  of  a  tiny  beck, 
new  to  the  angler,  with  no  sound  but  the  plover  or  the  cur- 
lew, or  the  distant  tinkle  of  the  bell-wether ;  no  incumbrance 
but  a  light  rod ;  no  bother  about  what  flies  will  or  will  not 
suit ;  no  tackle  beyond  a  yard  of  gut  and  two  or  three  hooks 
in  a  piece  of  brown  paper ;  a  small  bag  of  moss  with  well- 
scoured  worms  within ;  a  sandwich  or  cold  mutton  chop — 
the  latter  for  preference — in  one  pocket,  and  a  flask  of  the 
dew  "  that  shines  in  the  starlight  when  kings  dinna  ken  in 
the  other,"  etc.,  etc. ;  and  when  autumn,  with  its  bracing  air, 
succeeded  summer,  to  the  wild,  excited,  yet  concentrated 
thrill  that  shot  through  his  frame  when  he  hooked  the  "  lord- 
ly salmon,"  and  which  lasted  till  he  could  say  to  himself,  "It 
is  my  turn  now ;  you  shall  not  have  all  your  own  way  with 
me." ' 

"  Such  have  been  my  feelings  this  cold,  stormy  winter  even- 
ing, as  I  sat  over  a  cosy  fire  in  my  easy-chair.  I  felt  inclined 
to  good  fellowship  with  all  anglers,  especially  such  of  them 
as  have  arrived  at  my  time  of  life,  when  they  naturally  look 
back  to  what  they  have  been  in  preference  to  what  they  are 
now,  but  are  still  fond  of  the  sport  when  strength  and  oppor- 
tunity allow  of  following  it.  For  the  especial  benefit  of  the 
latter,  if  you  and  they  think  it  worth  accepting,  I  have  turned 
to  my  writing-case  to  give  you  the  particulars  of  a  light  sal- 
mon-rod, equally  good  for  worm  or.  salmon  fishing,  which  I 
got  made  at  home  last  year. 

"Its  weight  is  li  lb.  ;  length,  15^  feet;  first  fish  killed 
with  it,  1 8  lbs.  weight. 

"The  first  week  in  September  this  season  I  hooked  and 
[killed  a  male  fish,  11  lbs.,  and  hooked  and  killed  on  successive 
days  seven  fish,  aggregate  weight  nearly  90  lbs.,  without  los- 
ing any  thing  once  hooked.  Two  or  three  had  the  sea-lice 
on  them — one  especially,  a  15 ^-pounder,  which  for  running, 
jumping,  wheeling  round  and  round  in  circles,  shaking  its 

O 


210  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

head,  and  lashing  the  water  with  its  tail,  exceeded  any  thing 
I  ever  had  on.  An  old  angler  who  was  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  and  has  himself  killed  above  fifty  salmon  this 
season,  said  it  was  the  wildest  fish  he  ever  saw. 

"  Well,  not  to  be  prolix,  I  give  you  the  result  Qf  many 
hours'  study  in  few  words,  prefacing  them  with  the  observa- 
tion that  the  rod  is  as  straight  and  serviceable  now  as  when 
first  made,  and  has  never  failed  or  needed  repair. 

"For  the  butt,  5|  feet  of  well-seasoned,  selected  memel, 
with  the  fibre  of  the  wood  running  straight  in  the  direction 
of  the  rod ;  if  these  conditions  are  not  observed  the  wood  is 
useless.  For  the  middle  piece,  4  J  feet  of  selected  ash.  For 
top,  4|  feet  of  lancewood.  The  memel  butt  is  brass-hooped, 
has  good  strong  brass  hoops  for  the  wheel,  and  is  joined  to 
the  ash  middle-piece  with  the  usual  brass  ferrule.  The  lance- 
wood top  and  ash  middle-piece  are  joined  with  a  new  splice, 
which  is  superior  to  the  ferrule  joining  for  its  lightness,  im- 
possibility of  any  shifting,  and  the  quickness  with  which  it 
is  put  together.  This  is  the  '  modern  splice  for  fly-rods,' 
which  is  illustrated  and  described  on  page  160,  under  the 
head  of  Trouting  Tackle.' 

"  There  are  twenty  rings,  graduating  in  size  from  the  butt 
to  the  top,  including  the  top  ring,  which  is  just  large  enough 
to  allow  the  line  to  run  freely.  Proper  ringing  of  a  rod  dis- 
tributes the  weight  of  a  fish  equally  over  it  until  it  comes  to 
the  ring  on  the  butt  end.  The  rod  graduates  from  the  butt 
end  to  the  top,  is  neither  stiff  nor  supple,  and  throws  a  long 
line.  The*  weight  of  the  whole  rod  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
thickness  of  each  piece. 

"  I  wish  to  draw  especial  attention  to  the  material  of  the 
butt,  the  ringing,  and  the  new  splice.  This  new  form  of 
splice  obviates  the  only  objections  (loss  of  time  in  tying, 
loosening  of  splice  during  use,  and  the  wearing  of  the  ends' 
of  the  splice)  against  a  spliced  rod,  and  renders  it  incompar- 
ably superior  to  a  ferruled  rod." 

Francis  Francis  states  that  "  the  best  wbod  is  unquestion^ 


A   MOST    IMPORTANT   IMPLEMENT.  211 

ably  greenheart,  and  next  to  it  hickory ;"  adding  that  they 
in  the  British  Isles  had  tried  bamboo,  and  found  it  a  failure. 
He  also  thinks  that  ferruled  rods  are  better  than  spliced  ones 
for  general  use,  and  shows,  by  comparing  their  weights,  that 
the  ferruled  ones  are  not  appreciably  heavier.  Since  Mr.  Fran- 
cis gave  an  opinion  against  a  bamboo  rod.  Dr.  Clerk,  of  the 
firm  of  Andrew  Clerk  &  Co.,  has  visited  Scotland  in  the  sal- 
mon season,  and  carried  with  him  a  split  bamboo  rod  made  by 
their  house.  I  have  seen  the  same  rod  used  in  Canada,  where 
it  was  pronounced,  by  such  competent  judges  as  officers  of 
the  army,  the  best  they  had  ever  seen  in  use.  The  doctor 
stated  that  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  anglers  and  experts  in 
Scotland.  This  is  the  fourth  season  that  it  has  been  used, 
and,  though  it  has  played  and  killed  many  salmon  weighing 
from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  pounds  each,  yet  it  has  never 
started  in  any  part,  but  appears  as  good  as  new.  Having 
seen  it  used  by  the  side  of  Castle  Connell  and  Martin  Kelly 
specimens,  I  frankly  confess  that  the  split  bamboo  is  vastly 
their  superior  in  delivering  a  fly  at  a  great  distance,  and  re- 
trieving the  line ;  in  playing  a  large  fish  while  the  angler  is  on 
the  shore  of  a  wide,  rapid  river,  and  in  all  the  essentials 
which  conduce  to  elegance  and  satisfaction  in  salmon-fishing. 
The  rod  is  twenty  feet  long,  and  not  more  than  three  fourths 
the  weight  of  a  greenheart  or  hickory  of  the  same  length. 
The  reel  is  attached  to  bands  from  eighteen  inches  to  two 
feet  above  the  end  of  the  butt,  as  easier  to  hold  while  racing 
down  a  river  with  a  salmon.  By  the  use  of  a  couple  of  feet 
below  the  reel,  the  angler  may  place  the  butt  under  his  left 
arm,  and,  with  the  rod  perpendicular,  let  the  rod  and  reel  do 
their  duty,  while  he  runs  an  unequal  race  along  a  rocky  shore, 
tangled  with  shrubbery  and  fallen  timber.  I  sincerely  be- 
lieve that  the  split  bamboo  is  the  perfection  of  a  salmon-rod. 
Its  make  is  a  secret,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  butt  and 
second  joint  are  corked  with  hickory  or  some  one  of  our 
tough  woods.  The  only  part  of  the  rod  which  is  bamboo  is 
the  outside,  composed  of  the  outside  and  tough  part  of  the 


212  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

bamboo,  and  wound  at  intervals  of  six  inches  throughout  its 
length  with  waxed  silk  lashings.  Of  course  the  rings  are 
graduated  in  number  to  the  length  of  the  rod. 

The  angler,  on  visiting  Canada  for  salmon-fishing,  should  be 
armed  with  two  rods,  or  an  extra  rod  besides  his  bamboo,  but 
should  expect  to  fish  with  the  bamboo.  I  am  partial  to  a 
three-jointed  rod  over  a  four-jointer ;  but  either  of  them  may 
be  balanced  well.  I  am  also  in  favor  of  the  lower  joint  being 
ferruled,  and  the  others  fastened  with  the  "  modem  splice"  of 
bands  at  each  end  of  the  splice.  The  bamboo  rod  should  be 
from  nineteen  to  twenty-one  feet  long,  ^or  a  second  rod,  I 
should  recommend  one  rather  stiffer  than  the  bamboo,  in- 
tended, if  necessary,  for  angling  from  a  boat.  It  should  be 
from  sixteen  to  nineteen  feet  long,  and  the  hickory  ones  made 
by  Martin  Kelly,  of  Dublin,  are  preferable  to  any  that  I  have 
seen  except  the  split  bamboo.  The  Castle  Council  rods  are 
rather  top-heavy,  and  approximately  double-acting,  with  a 
kick  in  the  butt  which  nearly  upsets  a  person  when  wading  in 
a  three-feet-deep  rapid  water.  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Boston,  makes 
an  excellent  salmon-rod,  and  so  does  Robert  Welch,  of  New 
York.  I  suppose  that  Pritchard  Brothers  might  make  a  good 
salmon-rod,  as  they  are  old  salmon-fishers.-  An  excellent  sal- 
mon-rod is  made  with  hickory  butt,  next  joint  of  ash,  a  third 
of  lancewood,  and  top  of  split  bamboo ;  all  of  the  same  pat- 
tern as  a  Long  Island  trout-rod,  only  heavier  and  longer. 
The  butt  should  be  ferruled,  and  the  other  two  joints  spliced. 

2  Click  Reels. — Each  of  these  should  be  large  enough  to 
carry  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  English  salmon-line ;  that 
is,  a  silk,  or  silk  and  hair  braided  line,  tapering,  and  protected 
by  varnish  from  becoming  water-soaked.  Good  salmon-reels 
are  only  to  be  procured  at  our  best  fishing-tackle  establish- 
ments, and  it  is  worse  than  love's  labor  lost  to  use  any  other. 

1  spare  line  for  the  reels. 

6  casting-lines  of  twelve  feet  in  length  each,  made  of  stained 
gut,  one  fourth  three-ply  at  the  upper  end,  one  fourth  two- 
ply  next,  both  twisted,  and  six  feet  of  single  gut.     Let  the 


Concluding  the  List  of  Tackle.  213 

gut  be  round,  clear,  and  perfect,  and  as  strong  as  you  can 
procure. 

2  horse-hair  casting-lines,  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet 
long  each,  braided  in  the  form  of  a  whip-lash,  and  nearly  one 
fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  in  the  centre.  Pritchard  Broth- 
ers make  this  upper  casting-line  to  perfection.  It  is  light, 
and  its  shape  greatly  assists  casting,  while  it  is  not  so  liable 
to  sink  and  drown  as  the  silk,  or  silk  and  hair  line,  though 
protected  with  varnish.  This  casting-line  is  a  desideratum 
not  to  be  neglected.  Before  splicing  it  to  your  reel-line,  cut 
off  from  the  latter  as  many  yards  as  you  add  by  the  upper 
casting-line. 

6  dozen,  or  nearly  a  gross,  of  assorted  salmon-flies,  and  a 
quantity  of  materials  to  enable  you  to  duplicate  the  size  and 
color  of  either ;  for  salmon  of  different  pools  in  the  same 
river  have  different  tastes,  and  keep  changing  so  frequently 
that  a  Montreal  fly  of  brown  mallard  wings,  claret  body,  and 
golden  pheasant  top-knot  for  tail,  which  they  curved  their 
velvet  tails  at  yesterday,  is  the  favorite  to-day,  to  be  super- 
seded to-morrow,  perhaps,  by  a  Tweed  fly.  When  the  angler 
runs  nearly  out  of  a  favorite  fly,  he  selects  a  hook  of  the  same 
size  and  combines  the  same  colors  to  mount  it  with;  and 
though  it  be  not  artistically  tied,  it  generally  proves  success- 
ful, for  salmon  do  not  scrutinize  very  closely  when  they  wit- 
ness the  combination  of  colors  which  they  admire.  When  yel- 
low is  the  favorite  color,  and  you  have  run  out  of  flies  of  that 
tint,  tie  a  new  fly,  or,  if  in  a  hurry,  add  yellow  to  another  fly. 

1  hank  of  round,  clear,  and  heavy  silk-worm  gut,  stained. 

GAFF-HOOKS. 

A  is  the  salmon-bend  gaff,  and  B  the  striped  bass.  The  dis- 
tance across  the  bend  of  the  first  is  2\  inches,  and  2|  across 
the  bend  of  B.  The  screws  are  of  steel  or  brass,  to  fit  into  a 
handle  six  feet  long,  and  composed  of  two  joints.  The  gaffs 
should  be  heavy,  and  from  one  fourth  to  three  eighths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter  in  the  heaviest  parts. 


214 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


Gaff-hooks. 


In  addition  to  the  foregoing  list,  do  not  omit  a  couple  of 
changes  of  heavy  woolen  clothing.  At  the  far  north,  where 
it  is  light  enough  to  read  twenty  hours  of  the  day,  the  other 
hours  are  cold  enough  for  several  blankets  and  overcoats. 
For  the  employment  of  guides,  cook,  gaffers,  and  the  pur- 
chase of  canoes,  it  is  best  to  employ  an  agent  in  Quebec  or 
Gaspe.  Mr.  "Willis  Russell,  of  the  St.  Louis  Hotel,  Quebec,  al- 
ways takes  great  pleasure  in  advancing  the  interests  of  an- 
glers from  the  States,  and,  on  application,  will  name  or  ap- 
point suitable  persons  and  direct  them. 

Of  supplies  for  subsisting  the  party,  either  Quebec  or  Gaspe 
are  equally  advantageous  for  the  south  side  of  the  Gulf,  but 
for  the  north  side  I  should  prefer  to  supply  at  Quebec. 

Smokers  will  find  segars  and  kinnikinnik,  with  brier-wood 
pipes,  or  a  meerschaum,  something  of  a  protection  against 
flies.  Parties  that  prefer  may  charter  a  schooner  at  Quebec 
or  Gaspe  for  five  dollars  a  day,  including  a  "navigator  and 
two  sailors,  who  subsist  themselves  for  that  sum,  the  whole 
expense  being  only  five  dollars  a  day  for  having  a  vessel 
manned  at  the  party's  command. 

Thus,  having  studied  the  subject  and  made  our  prepara- 
tions, we  propose  starting  for  Canada  or  Labrador  on  a  sal- 
mon-fishing excursion,  and  pray  the  reader  to  accompany  us 
in  spirit  while  we  recall  our  recollections  of  one  of  our  trips 
to  Canada. 


The  Start. 


215 


Having  previously  expressed  the  bulk  of  our  outfit  to 
Quebec,  the  banker  and  myself  started  from  New  York  in 
marching  trim,  with  the  few  articles  here  illustrated,  to  wit  : 
Water-proof  satchels — salmon-reel — clearing  ring  and  reel — 
scap-nets — gaff — trout-basket — leather  case  containing  rods 
— and  a  bottle  of  hartshorn  to  cure  fly-bites. 


SECTION  THIKD. 

DEPARTURE    FOR   SALMON-FISHIITG. 

The  noble  Northern  rivers  that  pierce  the  mountain  chain, 
Where  leap  the  gleaming  salmon  in  their  watery  domain, 
Invite  us  to  their  waters,  by  the  fir-tree  shftdow'd  shore. 
Their  shoals,  and  pools,  and  torrents  with  fhSh-rod  to  explore. 

s  our  party  consisted  of  four 
gentlemen  and  two  ladies,  we 
concluded   to   divide    routes, 
three  going  from  Quebec  via 
Gaspe  to  the  St.  John  River, 
while    the  banker,  his   lady, 
and  myself  awaited  the   de- 
parture   of   the    government 
r  steamer  Victoria,  and,  as   it 
I  proved,  this  was  an  unexpect- 
ed advantage,  for  the  steamer 
was  employed  by  government  to  provision  the  light-houses 
along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  island 
of  Anticosti,  to  assist  wrecked  mariners,  and  accomplish  the 


216  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

double  office  of  charity  and  police.  I  was  especially  thank- 
ful for  so  good  an  opportunity  for  seeing  the  salmon-rivers  on 
the  north  shores  which  come  rushing  and  tumbling  down 
every  few  miles  from  mountain  heights,  to  swell  the  tides  of 
the  Gulf.  It  gave  me  the  advantage  of  conversing  with  the 
government  agents  who  superintend  the  fisheries,  some  of 
whom  had  been  employed  to  supervise  the  fisheries  under  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  for  many  years ;  and  all  agreed  that 
the  Company  had  greatly  depleted  the  rivers  of  salmon,  and 
necessitated  the  exercise  of  wisdom  and  care  on  the  part  of 
the  government  to  restock  them  with  a  supply  as  ample  as 
would  be  required  for  rendering  them  profitable,  besides  sup- 
plying the  needs  of  the  growing  population.  I  was  glad  to 
be  thus  furnished  with  data  for  correctly  reporting  the  con- 
dition of  the  salmon-fishery ;  and  in  that  report  to  the  SpiHt 
of  the  Times,  having  had  no  pique  or  prejudice  to  gratify, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  entertaining  the  most  lively  sense  of 
gratitude  for  the  hospitality  with  which  I  was  every  where 
greeted,  I  expressed  the  wish  that  their  people  might  become 
"  altogether  such  as  we  are,  except  our  bonds." 

The  week's  sojourn  at  the  St.  Louis  in  Quebec  was  in  itself 
a  great  treat.  The  hotel  is  first  class,  and  intrinsically  good. 
Mr.  Russell,  its  accomplished  proprietor,  is  enterprising,  and 
his  guests  are  as  well  served  as  are  those  of  the  best  hotels 
in  New  York,  leaving  nothing  to  be  desired.  The  suburbs 
of  Quebec  are  beautiful,  besides  being  interesting  from  a  his- 
torical point  of  view.  In  sight  of  the  city  are  the  Falls  of 
Montmorenci,  the  picturesque  islands  in  the  river  below  the 
city.  Point  Levi  on  the  opposite  shore,  with  a  broad  belt  of 
green  foliage  and  pasture  lighted  up  by  country  residences, 
some  of  which  partake — with  their  surroundings — largely  of 
the  ornate.  The  weather  was  highly  refreshing,  and  the 
promenade  on  the  Plaza,  with  the  enlivening  music  belonging 
to  the  military  station,  made  the  time  pass  gayly.  I  would 
here  state,  parenthetically,  that  Quebec  is  a  beautiful  place  to 
remain  for  a  few  days  on  a  bridal  tour.     But  the  day  arrived 


I 


A  Settlement  of  Fishermen.  217 

for  our  departure  on  the  Victoria.  Our  passage  was  very 
agreeable,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  we  were 
landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John,  some  six  hundred  miles 
from  Quebec,  and  with  the  hazy  outline  of  the  island  of  An- 
ticosti  in  sight  to  the  south. 

We  were  rejoiced  at  finding  a  hamlet  of  huts,  where  resid- 
ed the  cod  fishermen  of  the  station,  who  employed  some  sixty 
smacks,  and  were  in  full  tide 'of  operation,  fishing  with  hand- 
lines  on  the  banks  between  the  main  shore  and  Anticostl 
The  salmon-fishers  of  the  estuary  also  resided  there,  and  were 
fishing  with  gill-nets  fastened  to  stakes  which  were  fixed  in 
the  bottom  of  the  river,  but  not  technically  called  stake-nets. 
Mr.  J.  Beaulieu,  a  superintendent  or  fishery  warden,  resides 
also  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John  during  the  salmon  season. 
The  doctor,  with  the  general  and  his  lady,  haviijg  arrived  two 
days  previously,  had  ascended  the  river  with  canoes  to  the 
plateau  where  we  designed  encamping,  twenty-seven  miles 
up  the  river,  and  had  sent  back  two  canoes  and  guides  for  us. 
While  the  grocer  was  preparing  our  breakfast  of  fried  sal- 
mon, with  salt  pork,  bread,  butter,  and  English  breakfast  tea, 
I  concluded  to  reconnoitre,  and  soon  found  that  curiosity 
called  the  black  fly,  who  left  his  mark  on  my  nose.  I  saw 
also  the  salmon -netters  land  with  their  boats,  containing 
many  salmon  which  were  either  headless  or  showed  signs  of 
having  been  bitten  in  difierent  parts  of  the  body,  and  so  mu- 
tilated by  the  seals,  and  perhaps  otters  and  minks,  as  to  be 
entirely  valueless.  I  therefore  concluded  that  either  the  seals 
should  be  destroyed,  or  that  salmon  should  not  be  taken  with 
gill-nets  fastened  to  stationary  stakes  in  the  stream,  where 
all  water- vermin  can  feast  on  the  struggling  salmon,  helpless- 
ly fastened  in  the  meshes,  from  whence  many  of  them,  bitten 
in  pieces,  necessarily  drift  down  the  current  to  pollute  the 
river,  and  warn  salmon  just  entering  to  seek  some  other 
spawning-ground. 


18 


Fishing  in  American  Watees. 


OUR   START   UP   THE    ST.  JOHN. 

After  breakfasting  bountifully  we  repaired  to  our  canoes, 
where  we  found  our  baggage  stowed  appropriately,  and  were 
invited  to  take  seats  on  the  bottom  and  in  the  centre  of  the 
canoes,  our  four  willing  guides  manning  the  bow  and  stern 
of  each  canoe  with  paddles,  iron-pointed  setting-poles,  and  a 
long  rope  attached  to  each  bow  for  towing  us  up  the  rapids 
along  the  shores,  which  they  call  "  cordeliering."  On  the  fir- 
brush  flakes,  which  bordered  the  shore  and  covered  acres, 
were  strewn  codfish  to  dry,  whose  fragrant  aroma  seemed  to 
threaten  even  the  black  flies.  The  water  was  enlivened  by 
thousands  of  sea-trout,  foraging  in  every  direction  and  leap- 
ing after  flies.  But  we  bade  the  last  signs  of  human  abode 
adieu,  and  started  up  the  river,  through  deep  mountain  gorges 
of  rock,  whose  summits  were  sparsely  covered  with  small  fir- 
trees.  It  was  a  pleasant  morning  in  June,  and  we  had  not 
gone  far  before  our  Canadian  guides  began  to  chant,  without 
regard  to  the  time  of  day,  their  favorite  river  music  of 

AVE   MARIA. 

A  -  ve  Ma-  ri  -  a  !  Car  voi-  ci  I'heure  sainte       La  cloche 


'^m^3. 


1—^ 


ve  Ma-  ri  -  a  !  Car  voi-  ci  I'heure  sainte 
cres.  -  -  -  -s  -  --  - 

r-N— 


:e5i?: 


-H  — h- 


?fee 


s> — 


tiDrte, 
Doux. 


A  -  ve  Ma-  ri  -  a  I        Tousles  petits  Anges    Au  front radi  -  eux, 

Chantent  vos  lou- an-ges,    O      -^  *       ^ 

:f::J 


ijfS^iEf- 


Reine  des  cieux!A-ve  Ma-ri-  a!   Car  voi- 

La    cloche    tin  -  te,      A-  ve  Ma-ri -a!      Tout 
dim.  pp 


ci    I'heure     sainte       La    cloche    tin  -  te,     A  - 
/  dim.  pp 


-l-r l-j- 


eee^;^; 


dort  sous  vo  -  tre  aile    L'enfant  au  ber  -  ceau,  La  pauvre  hiron  -  delle   Dans 


SOENEEY  ON  THE  St.  JoHN  RiVEE. 


219 


Et=p: 


son  nid  d'of-  seau:     A-  vc    Ma-  ri  -  a!    Car    vol-  ci     I'heure 


eain-te 


^^^iii^Si^igi^^-l^^l 


La      cloche      tin  -  tc,       A  -  ve     Ma  -  ri  - 


Vous  etes  la  voile 

Du  ftauvre  marin  ; 
Vous  etes  I'etoile 
Du  bon  pelerin; 
Ave  Maria ! 
Car  voici  I'heure  sainte 
La  cloche  tinte 

Ave  Maria ! 
Vous  etes  servante 

Des  pauvre  blesses ; 
Vous  ^tes  I'amante 
Dos  eoeurs  delaisses. 
Ave  Maria  I  <fec. 


Votre  nom  si  tendre 

Sur  un  front  mortel, 
Fait  toujours  descendre 
La  beaute  du  ciel 
Ave  Maria ! 
Car  voici  I'heure  sainte 
La  cloche  tinte 

Ave  Maria ! 
Aussi  les  Maries 

En  ehoeur  gracieux, 
A  vous  reunies 
Montent  vers  les  cieux ! 
Ave  Maria  1  <fec. 


Having  journeyed  too  far  north  for  the  robin  and  bobolink, 
the  stillness  of  the  scene,  whose  monotony  was  only  relieved 
by  the  dashing  currents  of  a  mighty  river,  the  leaps  of  sal- 
mon and  sea-trout,  and  the  stealthy  movements  of  the  seal, 
now  hiding,  and  now  galloping  up  a  rapid  like  a  race-horse, 
at  every  leap  throwing  itself  half  out  of  water,  gave  us  a  fair 
chance  for  reflection,  and  to  wonder  that  people  could  be  found 
willing  to  settle  in  that  sterile  region.  But,  on  inquiry,  we 
found  that  none  had  yet  ventured,- not  even  an  Indian,  which 
furnished  me  with  another  evidence  of  human  sagacitj,  for 
[even  bruin's  anxious  family  know  better  than  to  settle  there 
(in  great  numbers.  We  passed  a  late  Hudson-Bay  fishing- 
JBtation,  where  remain  standing  their  log  huts  and  birch-bark 
smoke-houses  wherein  they  cured  their  salmon;  but  since 
their  charter  expired  several  years  since — grace  to  the  sal- 
tmon — there  is  not  a  human  soul  settled  above  the  mouth, 
within  fifty  miles  of  it. 

On  our  guides  rowed,  poled,  and  "  cordeliered" — stopping 
only  to  eat  a  mouthful  of  bread  and  raw  onion — until  sun- 
down, which  found  us  seventeen  miles  on  our  journey.    Here 


220  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

we  halted  for  the  night,  saw  the  canoes  unladen  and  hauled 
on  shore,  a  fire  quickly  made  to  keep  off  the  flies  and  enable 
us  to  extemporize  a  supper  with  scarcely  any  vessel  to  cook 
in  or  eat  out  of,  pitch  our  tent,  etc.  While  these  duties  were 
going  forward,  a  large  salmon,  of  over  20  lbs.  weight,  leaped 
several  feet  above  the  pool  in  front  of  our  tent,  and  not  thir- 
ty feet  from  shore.  A^s  quick  as  thought  was  one  of  our 
guides  seen  skulking  along  the  shrubby  margin  df  the  river, 
waiting  to  see  the  seal  which  was  the  cause  of  the  leap  of 
the  salmon.  Presently  the  seal  made  its  appearance  in  the 
middle  of  the  river,  and  in  the  strength  of  the  rapid,  swim- 
ming with  its  head  above  water,  and  looking  like  a  young 
negro  bathing.  It  turned  its  head  and  looked  all  around,  ap- 
parently in  surprise,  as  if  scenting  danger,  while  approaching 
the  shore  in  response  to  the  plaintive  call  of  the  man  with 
the  rifle ;  but  the  gunner  was  too  slow  on  the  trigger,  and 
the  seal  went  on  its  way  rejoicing. 

Boughs  of  fir,  for  bedding,  were  cut  by  the  guides  and  laid 
in  our  tent  while  we  were  taking  supper.  Our  first  night  of 
tenting  in  the  wilderness  was  signalized  by  pleasant  dreams, 
and  we  arose  early,  made  our  toilets,  and  watched  the  salmon 
disport  in  the  rapids  while  breakfast  was  being  prepared, 
and  canoes  launched  and  reladen. 

After  breakfast  we  started  for  our  camping-ground,  ten 
miles  farther  up  the  river.  The  whole  of  this  distance  may 
be  properly  considered  a  rapid,  and  one  third  the' way  a  very 
dangerous  one.  Salmon  were  abundant.  While  many  were 
leaping  above  the  current  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  scores 
were  seen  darting  from  near  the  shores  where  our  guides 
were  tugging  along. 

All  animate  nature  seemed  more  than  usually  active  that 
morning.  The  seals  were  out  in  force  and  galloping  up  the 
rapids.  Salmon  were,  leaping  and  splashing,  and  even  the 
silver  trout  were  breaking,  as  if  to  demonstrate  that  they  too, 
though  less  important,  were  gay  and  happy. 

While  admiring  the  mountains  of  rock,  sparsely  covered 


A  Duck  of  a  Mother.  221 

with  a  very  thin  apology  for  a  forest,  the  close  thicket  of 
birch  and  poplar  which  bordered  the  river,  and  the,  numer- 
ous shoots  of  a  wide  river  of  pellucid  waters,  in  which  none 
but  the  highest  styles  of  game-fish  found  a  residence,  a  duck 
shot  out  from  the  shore  with  a  little  brood  of  over  a  dozen 
following  her.  I  told  Duncan — my  guide  and  gafier — to 
slacken  the  speed  of  the  canoe.  I  was  interested  in  tliis  duck 
of  a  mother  with  a  numerous  brood.  Her  anxiety  was  ex- 
citing. For  an  instant  she  would  turn  toward  her  brood  and 
urge  them  with  the  most  impressive  gestures  to  quack-qua- 
qua-ka-qua-qua-ka-ka,  and  then  she  would  turn  from  them 
and  swim  toward  the  middle  of  the  river  in  utmost  speed ; 
but,  bethinking  herself,  she  would  turn  again  and  find  the 
little  ducks  a  great  way  behind.  Then  she  would  swim  back 
toward  them,  and  qua-qua-qua-ka-ka-ka  until  the  little  things, 
beginning  to  realize  their  critical  situation,  would  use  their 
wings  as  well  as  their  feet,  and  make  many  shell-drake  splut- 
tering demonstrations,  until,  by  the  numerous  turns  of  the 
mother,  her  emphatic  quacking  calls,  and  their  own  exertions, 
they  gained  the  opposite  shore  of  the  river,  and  we  acceler- 
ated our  speed.  But  we  had  not  proceeded  far  before  we 
ran  against  a  rock,  and  broke  a  hole  in  the  bow  of  our  bark 
canoe  that  made  us  land  and  unship  cargo.  A  fire,  by  the 
means  of  birch  bark,  which  is  the  most  ignitable  substance 
in  the  forest,  heated  some  pitch,  and  with  a  piece  of  cotton 
cloth  six  inches  square,  the  hole  was  patched  and  pitched  so 
as  to  render  it  water-tight  and  as  good  as  new.  In  the  mean 
time  our  friends  overtook  us,  and  we  discussed  the  "  cussed" 
bard  traveling.  My  friend  was  on  the  point  of  musically  ex- 
claiming, "  Oh,  carry  me  back !"  but  we  changed  it  into  the 
following  voluntary : 

"  'Twixt  you  and  T,  I  almost  think 

It's  almost  time  to  take  a  drink, 

For  we're  all  nearly  home.' 

We  agreed  with  him,  and,  after  imbibing  a  glass  of  sherry, 
once  more  started  to  admire  the  beauties  of  the  water,  for 


222  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

there  were  none  on  the  land ;  though,  to  speak  candidly,  the 
hills  were  sometimes  so  low  along  the.  river,  and  the  sun  and 
shade  so  captivating,. that  it  appeared  as  if  wemight  find  or- 
chards and  gardens  over  the  first  small  hijl,  and  I  often  asked 
my  friend  to -run  over  and  bring  us  some  fruits  and  melons, 
but  he  reluctantly  declined,  for  fear ,  of  encoimtering  Mrs. 
Bruin  and  her  anxious  family..  But  with  stout  hearts,  and 
the  brawny  arms  of  our. guides,  we  soon  reached  our  tenting- 
ground. 

SECTION    FOURTH. 

THE    ENCAMPMENT. 

'Twixt  the  fir-tree  skirted  ranches, 
Where  the  Kattling  Run  doth  shine, 

We  erect  our  hut  of  branches, 
Roof  of  birch  bark,  wall  of  pine  ; 

Floor  it  with  the  boughs  of  saplings, 

.    Fragrant,  soft  as  couch  of  kings, 

Rioting  in  forest  pleasures. 
And  the  sleep  that  labor  brings 

It  was  nearly  noon  when  we  arrived  at  our  camping- 
ground,  which  is  a  level  piece  of  bottom-land,  covered  with 
sand  and  cobble-stones,  a  mile  long,  by  the  river  shore,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  the  base  formed  by  Rattling  Run,  a 
small  river  emptying  into  the  St.  John  just  below  our  tents. 
It  was  a  very  hot  day — hot  is  the  word  for  the  middle  of  a 
clear,  still  day,  from  the  20th  of  June  to  the  20th  of  August, 
even  in  Labrador,  where  there  is  frost  nearly  every  night. 
There  was  only  one  tent  pitched ;  but  the  lady  was  superin- 
tending the  erection  of  a  log  cabin,  while  the  gentlemen  were 
away  up  the  river  angling  for  salmon.  The  lady  sent  her 
servant — a  "  contraband"  that  followed  the  general  from  Ten- 
nessee— to  inform  them  of  our  arrival. 

I  noticed  with  pleasure  that  the  general's  lady  had  not  suf- 
fered much  from  the  annoyance  of  flies. 

"  Oh  no,"  she  replied ;  "  it's  perfectly  charming  here ;  one 
bit  me  on  the  eyelid  before  I  knew  what  to  apply  for  anti- 
dote, and  it  nearly  closed  it ;  but  now,  as  soon  as  I  am  bitten, 


Mutual  Congratulations. 


223 


I  just  touch  the  bite  with  ammonia,  and  it  gives  me  no  pain, 
and  never  swells.  The  black  flies  do  not  trouble  you  after 
dark,  and  that's  a  great  comfort." 

I  saw  a  few  signs  of  defaced  beauty,  but  kept  mum.  In 
fact,  on  looking  upon  those  two  ladies,  I  felt  proud  of  such 
specimens.  One  of  them  had  visited  most  of  the  courts  of 
Europe,  and  the  other  had  accompanied  her  triumphant  hus- 
band throughout  our  recent  great  war.  We  therefore  num- 
bered six  in  the  party,  two  ladies  and  four  gentlemen ;  and  I 
am  bound  to  acknowledge  that,  throughout  our  month  of 
camp  life,  hundreds  of  miles  from  a  post-office,  the  ladies  ex- 
emplified the  highest  degree  of  spirit  and  pleasure,  with  the 
least  appearance  of  annoyance  at  any  discomfort ;  and  these 
were  the  two  first  white  ladies  that  ever  ascended  the  great 
St.  John  River. 

Having  examined  the  surroundings,  and  admired  the  great 
contrasts  of  the  heavens  with  the  mountains,  and  the  wide, 


224  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

rapid,  roaring  river,  with  its  tributary  of  Rattling  Run,  and 
while  I  was  beginning  to  scan  the  lay  of  the  grounds  for  de- 
ciding where  to  pitch  tents,  behold  our  comrades !  They 
came  fishing  along,  towing  four  salmon  on  the  gaff',  while 
the  general  played  a  fifteen-pounder  all  the  way  down  from 
the  falls,  a  mile  up  the  river. 

It  having  become  midday,  we  compared  notes  and  took 
dinner.  At  dinner'  we  discussed  the  almighty  salmon  in  all 
his  aspects — from  his  seclusion  in  corners  of  the  earth,  where 
he  is  protected  by  flies  and  an  almost  impenetrable  wilder- 
ness, to  his  high  game,  and,  finally,  the  epicurean  appearance 
he  lends  to  the  dinner-table.     Our  dinner  consisted  of 

Saumo7i  d  la  maitre  d^ hotel. 

Saumon  frit. 

Saumon  au  gratin. 

Jarnhon  hrulee. 

Les  oignons  de  Bermude. 

Biscuit  de  mer. 

Le  pain  et  du  beurre. 

Bu  the  et  du  sucre. 

Having  twenty -seven  miles  of  rapids  against  which  to 
transport  our  stores,  our  potatoes  and  our  claret  were  left  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  besides  our  desiccated  meats,  soups, 
vegetables,  and  fruits  preserved  in  cans.  Even  our  old  Ja- 
maica rum  was  left,  and  the  only  diffusible  stimulant  was  gin 
— Holland  gin !  But,  in  order  that  our  coffee,  milk,  and  the 
numerous  luxuries  laid  in  for  the  campaign  should  be  on 
hand  for  the  glorious  Fourth  of  July,  we  divided  our  men 
and  canoes,  half  to  transport  our  provisions  from  the  mouth 
to  the  camps,  and  the  other  half  to  serve  in  the  way  of  pad- 
dling us  to  our  places  for  angling,  gaffing  our  salmon,  and 
pitching  our  tents,  waiting  on  us,  cooking,  etc. 

The  general  and  the  doctor  had  so  excited  my  friend  the 
banker  and  myself  with  stories  of  captivating  sports,  that, 
immediately  after  dinner,  we  hardly  thought  of  a  cigar,  but 


Pkepaking  for  the  Encounter.  225 

forthwith  commenced  splicing  our  rods.  To  save  me. that 
trouble,  as  he  saw  my  anxiety,  the  doctor  kindly  tendered 
me  the  use  of  a  Castle  Connell  rod,  which,  he  stated,  had 
nearly  broken  his  back  and  used  him  up,  but  he  hoped  it 
would  behave  more  generously  with  me.  It  was  a  twenty- 
foot  rod,  by  which  a  long  cast  could  be  made ;  but  it  was  so 
top-heavy,  and  with  a  sort  of  double  action,  like .  a  "  kick  in 
the  handle,"  that  it  came  back  on  me  several  times,  and 
made  me  sit  down  in  the  river  to  cool  off;  but  not  on  that 
day. 

The  doctor  accompanied  me,  to  give  an  idea  where  I  would 
likely  find  salmon,  and  how  I  had  best  move  my  fly  so  as  to 
render  it  captivating  in  that  wide  and  rapid  river.  I  ad- 
mired the  river ;  the  breaks  of  salmon  of  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  pounds  each  excited  me.  I  soon  thanked  the  doctor, 
and  told  him  that  I  believed  myself  a  match  for  them,  when 
he  ignited  a  cigar,  and  proceeded  onward  to  where  he  ex- 
pected the  salmon  were^waiting  for  his  flies. 

Left  alone,  with  the  injunction  that  if  I  should  hook  a  sal- 
mon, to  shout  for  a  gaffer  to  come  to  my  assistance,  as  Dun- 
can had  returned  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  for  provisions,  I 
again  examined  my  tackle.  "  It  is  true,"  thought  I,  "  these 
fish  average  from  eight  to  thirty-eight  pounds  only,  and  I 
liave  taken  a  forty-pound  stiiped  bass ;  but  my  tackle  for 
striped  bass  was  a  strong  line,  while  here  it  is  only  a  single 
silk-worm  gut." 

Having  intellectually  weighed  and  investigated  the  theory 
of  the  audacious  fish  in  that  river  of  great  power  and  majesty, 
and  so  examined  that  I  thought  all  things  were  right,  I  made 
a  cast  and  let  my  fly  float  round  from  the  current  to  the  side. 
I  continued  so  to  cast  and  drop  down  stream  a  step  at  each 
cast,  about  half  an  hour,  when  a  salmon  accepted  my  lure. 
The  fish  did  not  take  the  fly  as  a  trout  does  by  rushing  at  it 
from  beneath,  but  rose  over  the  fly  and  took  it  on  going  back. 
He  soon  convinced  me  that  he  was  there  by  a  jerk  and  a  leap 
above  water,  and  out  farther  into  the  river  where  the  cuiTent 

P 


226  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

was-  stronger.  When  he  leaped,  as  he  did  numerous  times,  I 
lowered  the  top  of  my  rod  as  if  bowing  to  his  mandate.  By- 
and-by  he  suffered  himself  to  be  reeled  up  quite  near  me,  no 
doubt  because  his  curiosity  prompted  him  to  study  the  cause 
of  his  difficulty,  and  to  try,  if  possible,  to  reach  its  source.  In 
the  mean  time  I  was  shouting  for  some  man  to  come  and  gaff 
my  salmon. 

After  having  scanned  "the  head  and  front  of  the  offend- 
ing," he  turned  and  ran  off  moderately  until  he  arrived  in  the 
swiftest  part  of  the  current,  and  then  all  I  could  do  would 
not  stop  him.  I  was  therefore  obliged  to  follow,  and  down  I 
started  along  the  stony  shore  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  I 
became  fatigued ;  and,  as  if  to  spell  me,  the  fish  halted  and 
remained  until  he  rested  long  enough,  and  then  he  rose  and 
made  a  quadrilateral  leap,  or  four  leaps  in  as  many  directions 
at  the  same  time.  Said  I, "  My  chap,  you  are  some !"  "  How 
many  lives  have  you  got,  anyhow?"  thought  I.  But  there 
was  no  use  of  thinking  or  speculating,  for  he  had  mounted  hie 
high  horse  again,  and  down  the  river  I  had  to  follow.  My 
extemporized  gaffer  advised  me  to  snub  him.  I  replied  that 
I  had,  but  it  was  of  no  use.  Presently  he  halted  again,  and, 
drenched  with  perspiration,  I  doffed  my  head  fly-net  and  pre- 
pared to  do  battle  in  open  air.  It  was  not  long  before  he 
gathered  strength  again,  and  started  for  the  middle  of  the 
river ;  but  a  little  harder  play  coaxed  him  to  change  his  mind. 
He  then  began  leaping  and  cavorting,  as  if  he  was  only  in 
fun  all  the  time,  and  had  as  lief  as  not  come  in  out  of  the  wet. 
In  a  few  more  turns,  the  gaffer  made  a  pass  at  the  fish  and 
missed  him.  The  fish  then  showed  great  vigor,  and  acted  as 
if  he  would  never  say  die ;  but  after  several  efforts  the  gaffer 
brought  him  up,  and  he  weighed  only  twelve  pounds. 

With  perspiration  rolling  down  me  and  not  a  little  fa- 
tigued, I  started  back  to  where  I  hooked  the  salmon  and  com- 
menced casting  for  another.  It  was  not  long  before  I  hooked 
him,  and  without  much  make-believe  he  started  down  the 
river  and  I  after  him.     Presently  he  waited  to  rest,  and  then 


Going  through  a  Course  of  Sprouts.  227 

turned  and  ran  up  the  river.  Then  he  sulked.  Next  he  leaped 
and  dove,  swimming  rapidly  up  stream  to  form  a  bight  in  my 
line.  But,  finding  all  his  tricky  eiForts  useless,  he  started  with 
great  speed  down  the  river,  and  I  brought  him  to  gafl:*  half  a 
mile  below  where  I  had  hooked  him.  He  weighed  within  a 
pound  of  as  much  as  the  first  one. 

Again  I  retraced  my  steps  to  the  head  of  the  pool,  to  where 
a  long  cast  would  send  the  fly  beyond  a  submerged  rock  in 
the  centre  of  the  current,  below  which  salmon  appeared  to 
rest  preparatory  to  ascending  a  lengthy  rapid  which  carried 
them  to  the  great  pool  below  the  falls.  Several  times  I  de- 
livered my  fly  so  as  to  sweep  the  current  and  eddy  without 
a  salmon  putting  in  an  appearance.  I  therefore  walked  along 
the  shore,  casting  out  as  far  as  I  could  on  the  rapid  stream, 
and  every  time  the.  fly  floated  round  to  the  edge  of  the  eddy 
at  the  side  I  took  one  step  down  stream  and  cast  again,  so  as 
to  fish  over  all  the  ground  on  my  side  of  the  river.  I  had 
not  fished  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when,  in  response  tx) 
my  feathery  invitation,  a  very  large  silvery  fish  sparkled  in 
the  air  before  me !  I  admired  him  with  intense  interest ;  and, 
After  a  short  contest,  he  came  up  persuasively,  seeming  to 
say, "I'll  land  without  the  gafil"  Thus  he  played  ofi'and  on 
shore,  in  the  air  and  in  the  water,  until  I  realized  a  new  sen- 
sation, and  began  to  regard  him  as  a  charming  pet.  I  saw 
that  he  was  a  very  large  fresh-run  salmon,  and  much  more 
tractable  than  either  of  the  two  which  came  to  gaff".  Pres- 
ently he  slackened  speed,  and  even  stopped  to  rub  his  nose 
against  a  rock,  and  perhaps  try  to  spring  the  hook  out ;  but 
these  were  merely  casual  experiments  to  whet  his  ingenuity, 
while  on  his  way  back  to  the  sea,  to  rid  himself  of  hooks  and 
stake-nets.  By-and-by,  after  he  had  led  me  about  half  a  mile, 
sometimes  fast  aud  at  other  times  slow,  as  suited  his  fancy, 
making  me  appear  very  like,  though  less  artistic,  perhaps, 
than  Pat  with  a  shillelah  in  one  hand,  his  hat  placed  akimbo, 
and  with  his  other  hand  holding  a  rope  fastened  to  a  pig's 
leg,  the  pig  too  large  for  Pat  to  control.     About  that  time  I 


3S8  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

did  not  think  of  black  flies,  nor  rocks  and  sore  shins.  My 
friend  sometimes  generously  came  near  shore,  and  once  I 
thought  I  saw  him  throw  his  tail  up,  as  a  sure  sign  of  grow- 
ing weakness,  but  it  was  all  sham.  He  was  only  studying 
my  tackle,  and  his  means  of  escape  by  parting  it.  He  was 
up  near  the  gaff  several  times,  and  eyed  the  instrument  crit- 
ically, but  with  a  whirl  of  astonishment  akin  to  anger  and 
disdain,  as  if  in  this  age  of  negro  suifrage  a  man  so  cruel 
could  be  found  as  to  fight  salmon  with  so  unequal  and  hide- 
ous a  weapon.  But  he  curled  on  the  water,  and  while  he 
touched  his  nose  with  the  end  of  his  tail,  he  looked  askance 
for  an  instant ;  then  he  made  a  prodigious  leap  down  stream, 
and  plunged  some  ten  feet  under  water  and  came  up  five 
rods  above,  thus  forming  a  bight  in  the  line,  by  which  he  ex- 
pected to  gain  slack  and  extricate  himself.  But  it  was  all  no 
go.  I  thought  he  was  mine,  and  preserved  great  care  lest  he 
should  unhook  while  bringing  him  to  the  gaff.  He  came  for- 
ward as  willing  as  a  pet  lamb  until  within  three  rods  of  shore ; 
he  then  made  a  turn,  and  with  dips,  dives,  leaps,  and  other 
devices,  liberated  himself,  and  took  my  fly-hook  with  him.  I 
felt  wilted ;  worse,  I  was  outgeneraled ;  worse  still,  I  was 
vanquished.  I  once  more  mechanically  walked  nearly  a  mile 
to  the  foot  of  the  rapid,  but  I  could  not  cast  with  hope  and 
confidence,  and,  as  the  sun  was  about  setting  and  the  musqui- 
toes  began  their  carnival,  I  repaired  to  the  tent  and  to  sup- 
per, used  up,  though  partially  successful. 

Thus  ended  my  first  afternoon's  angling  for  salmon  in 
Lower  Canada. 

SECTION  FIFTH. 

TENTING   IN   THE    WILDERNESS. 

Our  guides  had  pitched  our  tents,  and  carpeted  them  with 
fir -boughs  which  they  clipped  from  the  shrubbery  back- 
ground of  the  plateau.  My  bed  consisted  of  two  breadths 
six  and  a  half  feet  long  of  canvas,  closed  by  a  seam  length- 
wise up  the  centre,  and  hemmed  six  inches  wide  at  each  side 


A    REFRESHING    LuXURY.  2^ 

for  inserting  poles.  A  log  at  each  end  a  foot  in  diameter 
served  to  fasten  the  poles  to,  thus  forming  a  canvas  bed  6^^ 
feet  long,  3  feet  wide,  and  a  foot  above  the  carpet  or  ground 
of  the  tent.  If  preferred,  the  foot-log  need  not  be  so  large  as 
the  head  one ;  only  have  regard  to  stretching  your  bed  high 
enough  to  admit  the  circulation  of  air  under  it.  The  follow- 
ing sketch  may  help  illustrate. 


»■ 


Camp  Bed. 

The  guides  had  also  cut  the  poles  and  inserted  them  in  the 
hems  of  the  canvas,  which  I  bought  and  brought  with  me 
from  Quebec,  and  with  stretchers  across  the  ends  of  the  can- 
vas, they  had  fastened  my  bed  to  the  head  and  foot  logs, 
made  my  bed,  and  had  built  a  smudge  fire  in  front  of  my 
tent.  Oh,  how  refreshing  the  aroma  of  a  tent  carpeted  with 
fi¥-boughs !  no  one,  without  experience,  can  properly  appre- 
ciate the  luxury. 

After  a  social  supper,  we  convened  in  a  circle  around  the 
smudge  fire  before  my  tent  to  discuss  the  mighty  salmon, 
and  to  inform  the  ladies  of  the  changes  in  the  fashions  up  to 
the  day  we  left,  being  a  week  after  their  departure.  Of 
course  the  changes  had  been  considerable,  and  the  gentle- 
men's forty-eight  hours'  advance  in  studying  the  peculiarities 
of  the  salmon  there  had  entitled  them  to  the  honors  of  Men- 
torship.  So,  after  summing  up  and  being  summed  up,  and 
the  tent  smoked  out  with  a  smudge  fire  on  a  piece  of  bircli 
bark,  I  laid  my  rubber  blanket  on  the  bed,  and  was  soon 
dreaming  that  I  had  captured  the  beautiful  salmon  that  I 
had  played  so  long,  and  was  being  serenaded  by  all  the  oth- 
er milt  salmon  for  ridding  them  of  the  dandy  of  the  river. 
Being  vociferously  called  on  for  a  speech,  it  so  shocked  my 
erves  that  I  awoke,  and  the  light  peering  in  through  the  in- 
terstices of  my  tent,  I  forthwith  arose  for  the  morafng. 


2<50  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

"  The  little  landscape  round 
Was  green  and  woody,  and  refreshed  the  eye ; 
It  was  a  spot  which  you  might  aptly  call 
The  Valley  of  Seclusion." 

Bright  and  beautiful  was  the  weather,  and  the  two  birds 
which  charm  the  mornings  of  that  wilderness  wild  were  pip- 
ing their  mellifluous  notes,  while  the  only  responses  heard 
were  the  snores  of  our  guides  in  a  one-sided  bark  shanty, 
where  they  lay  on  fir-boughs,  toasting  their  feet  before  a 
smudge  fire.  As  it  appeared  to  be  about  seven  o'clock,  I  was 
surprised  to  see  not  a  soul  moving.  I  walked  a  few  rods  to 
the  river,  where  I  watched  admiringly  the  salmon's  leap,  but 
looked  in  vain  for  a  seal.  After  having  been  up  nearly  an 
hour,  and  perceiving  that  friends  and  guides  were  still  asleep, 
I  concluded  to  call  up  the  gafiers  and  cuisinier,  or  cook.  As 
our  cook  was  perfectly  innocent  of  any  language  but  a  lui- 
nuck  patois,  by  which  tongue  potatoes  or  pommes  de '  terre 
are  known  as  potacJc,  of  course  I  found  it  difficult  to  make 
him  understand  either  English  or  French,  and  that  is  an  un- 
pardonable fault  in  a  cook. 

Well,  as  they  lay  snoring,  and  not  one  awake,  I  thought  I 
would  see  what  time  it  was  before  arousing  them ;  and  on 
consulting  my  watch,  I  learned  that  it  was  precisely  half  past 
three-  o'clock !  Well,  said  I,  sotto  voce,  this  is  a  strange  coun- 
try, and,  lest  I  should  disturb  my  lodging  comrades,  I  re- 
clined outside  the  tent,  and  tried  to  take  another  nap ;  but 
the  black  flies  had  also  awoke,  and  began  paying  their  dis- 
tresses to  me,  much  to  the  sacrifice  of  an  amount  of  beauty 
too  scant  to  lose  any  without  an  exposure  of  its  want.  I  re- 
monstrated at  the  presentation  of  bills  at  such  an  unseason- 
able hour,  but  they  only  shouted  the  louder,  and  called  to- 
gether so  great  a  number  as  to  oblige  me  to  decamp.  I 
therefore  resorted  to  Rattling  Run  to  take  a  bath.  While 
bathing  it  was  all  very  well,  but  between  undressing  and 
dressing  they  took  me  at  a  disadvantage,  and  by  both  mus- 
quitoes  and  black  flies  I  was  decidedly  worsted.     On  my  re- 


Yielding  to  Circumstances.  281 

• 
turn  to  the  tents  there  were  no  signs  of  life  but  an  occasional 
snore,  the  noises  of  hares,  porcupines,  and  squirrels  in  the 
grove  hard  by,  and  the  two  songsters  singing  so  merrily  as 
to  drown  the  music  of  the  musquitoes.  On  examining  my 
watch  I  learned  that  it  was  five  o'clock.  I  therefore  deter- 
mined on  arousing  the  cook  and  the  gafiers.  They  arose 
with  reluctance,  rubbed  their  eyes,  washed  their  faces  and 
hands  in  the  river,  and  that  was  all  the  toilet-making  needed, 
for  they  had  slept  with  their  boots  and  shoes  on  as  protec- 
tion against  flies.  John,  the  captain  of  the  gang,  because  of 
his  superior  Milesian  intelligence,  who  could  speak  equally 
well  bad  English  and  villainous  French,  informed  me  that  it 
never  had  been  the  custom  under  Dr.  Bluff",  of  the  First  Fusi- 
leers,  or  any  gentleman  who  had  previously  fished  that  river, 
to  rise  before  seven,  or  to  commence  fishing  before  nine. 
Well,  then,  I  replied,  we  Yankees  will  teach  you  a  new  lesson. 
But,  upon  ascertaining  that  my  friends  were  opposed  to  ris- 
ing early,  or  fishing  before  breakfast, I  yielded;  and  thence- 
forward the  cook  and  guides  suited  their  own  comfort  about 
rising,  and  we  did  not  get  started  for  angling  until  the  sun 
had  scorched  the  toes  and  dried  the  whistles  of  the  musqui- 
toes. 

But  it  seemed  that  the  noise  caused  from  mustering  the 
men  had  awakened  the  doctor,  who  crawled  out  of  his  tent 
with  modest  care  for  fear  of  arousing  the  other  two  inmates, 
when  he  mildly  saluted  me  with  "  Good  morning ;  how  came 
your  eye  out  ?"  I  replied  that  my  eyes  were  good  enough 
to  perceive  that  three  or  four  bites  from  black  flies  had 
changed  his  phiz  into  a  picture  of  a  Chinese  monstrosity. 
"You  don't  say  so!"  he  ejaculated.  "Where?"  I  pointed 
to  one  of  his  eyes,  his  bare  caput,  his  face,  etc.  On  examin- 
ing them,  he  forthwith  applied  ammonia  to  the  bites,  and 
bathed  mine  also  with  it. 

Smudge  fires  were  at  once  made  before  our  tents  and  ex- 
temporized breakfast-place.  Our  cuisinier  was  soon  engaged 
at  frying  pork  and  Bennuda  onions,  broiling  salmon,  making 


2^2  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

tea,  etc.,  etc.  As  we  had  not  tasted  potatoes  in  a  week,  we 
began  to  long  for  them.  Our  table  was  set,  and  breakfast 
about  ready,, when  the  general  and  the  banker  made  their 
appearance  with  their  ladies,  and,  after  mutual  salutations, 
we  all  seated  ourselves  for  breakfast.  Our  plates  and  dishes 
were  composed  of  cast-iron  outside  and  porcelain  inside ;  and, 
though  nearly  as  beautiful  as  sets  and  dishes  of  figured  china, 
they  were  as  durable  as  iron,  and  just  the  kind  that  should 
be  adopted  for  kitchen  use  in  the  metropolis.  By  each  plate 
a  stone  about  the  size  of  a  goose-egg  was  placed,  to  use  in 
cracking  our  sea-biscuit.  Good  sea-biscuit  is  much  better 
than  common  bread  in  the  wilderness,  and  when  cracked  up 
and  crumbled  into  a  bowl  of  tea,  or,  by  being  first  dipped  into 
cold  water  to  soften  it,  is  afterward  fried  in  the  fat  of  the 
pan  after  pork  and  eggs,  is  excellent,  especially  in  the  absence 
of  potatoes. 

I;  was  almost  shocked  on  perceiving  that  the  right  eye  of 
tl^e  banker's  lady  was  closed,  and  a  large  lump  on  her  left 
temple,  almost  spoiling  her  beauty;  but  I  did  not  allude  to 
it  until  she  mentioned  that  the  flies  had  somewhat  disfig- 
ured me,  when  I  asked  her  how  she  had  rested.  She  replied, 
"  Very  well ;  but  this  morning,  while  bathing  my  face,  I  found 
that  I  had  a  large  lump  on  the  left  side  of  it,  and  my  right 
eye  felt  fatty.  I  called  to  my  husband,  and  asked  him  what 
it  was.  He  replied  by  asking  me  to  shut  my  left  eye  and 
look  at  liim  with  my  right  one,  and  when  I  obeyed  he  said 
he  was  surprised,  for  my  right  eye  appeared  to  be  entirely 
closed.  Neither  my  eye  nor  my  face  pain  me  at  all,  but  the 
general's  lady  has  applied  ammonia  to  the  bites,  and  I  expect 
nothing  more  serious  from  them.  Hereafter  I  shall  wear  my 
head-net  night  and  day,  and  my  Esquimaux  boots."  I  com- 
plimented her  philosophy,  and  imitated  her  example  by  wear- 
ing boots  every  night  for  a  month,  though  fishing  in  shoes, 
and  wet  trowsers,  and,  on  returning  to  the  tent  twice  a  day, 
dofling  my  wet  clothes,  and  rubbing  down  with  a  crash  tow- 
el, and  substituting  dry  clothes  and  boots  until  ready  to  start 


New  Coukse  of  Traening. 

for  the  river  again,  when  I  would  doff  the  dry  clothes  and  re- 
place them  by  wet  wading  ones  and  shoes,  with  thick  woolen 
half  hose — sometimes  two  pairs — in  a  very  large  pair  of  shoes. 
Wide-soled  pegged  bottoms  are  the  best.  This  changing  of 
dresses  was  our  daily  modus  operandi  /  and  I  waded,  bathed, 
changed  dress,  whipped,-  played  salmon,  and  was  bitten  by 
flies  until  I  reduced  my  weight  more  than  twenty  pounds. 
I  therefore  suggest  salmon-angling  as  the  best  training  that 
a  person  can  indulge  in  whose  adiposity  preponderates.  This 
system  has  the  advantage  of  "  Banting  on  Corpulence,"  be- 
cause, while  it  reduces  the  amount  of  fat  or  adipose  matter, 
it  hardens  the  muscles,  and  thus  improves  the  wind  and  phys- 
ical power  of  a  man.  If  a  person  desires  training  so  as  to 
endure  great  fatigue,  and  render  him  more  active  and  supple, 
I  advise  him  to  forthwith  apply  for  a  salmon-river ;  and,  aft- 
er having  secured  a  lease  of  it  for  the  usual  term  of  nine 
years,  to  send  a  good,  trusty  man  there  next  April,  and  let 
him  employ  a  couple  of  Canadian  half-breeds,  buy  a  couple 
of  bark  canoes,  to  be  had  for  fifteen  dollars  each,  and  let  youi- 
man  build  a  couple  of  log  huts  at  the  foot  of  each  of  the  prin- 
cipal rapids  or  falls,  and  let  him  cover  them  well  with  birch 
bark,  and  line  them  throughout  with  the  bark,  so  as  to  keep 
out  the  flies.  A  chimney  is  quite  unnecessary,  as  a  smudge 
fire  in  the  middle  of  the  cabin  will  keep  the  flies  away,  if 
musquito-netting  covers  each  window  or  aperture  left  to  ad- 
mit light.  Then  I  should  advise  visiting  the  river  as  early 
IS  the  15th  of  June,  and  angling  until  the  end  of  July.  This 
>lan  will  insure  a  month  of  good  fishing,  and  no  trouble 
from  the  effects  of  flies  worth  naming.  In  fact,  it  will  ud- 
>end  the  mind,  invigorate  the  body,  and  renew  your  lease 
)flife. 
Of  biting  flies,  the  following,  written  by  the  Bishop  of 
Quebec  while  on  a  journey  up  the  Red  Rivei-,  in  his  "Songs 
)f  the  Wilderness,"  is  truthfully  expressive : 


234  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

"  Among  the  plagues  on  earth  which  God  has  sent. 

Of  lighter  torment  is  the  plague  of  flies  : 
Not  as  of  Egypt  once  the  punishment, 

Yet  such  sometimes  as  feeble  patience  tries. 
Where  wild  America  in  vastness  lies, 

There  diverse  hordes  the  swamps  and  woods  infest. 
Banded  or  singly,  these  make  man  their  prize  ; 

Quick  by  their  subtle  dart  is  blood  expressed 
Or  tumor  raised.     By  tiny  foe  distressed. 

Travelers  in  forest  rude  with  veil  are  fain 
To  arm  the  face ;  men  there  whose  dwellings  rest 

Crouch  in  thick  smoke ;  like  help  their  cattle  gain.  * 
Oh  wise  in  trials  great,  in  troubles  small. 

Who  know  to  find  mementoes  of  the  Fall." 

A  morning's  experience. 

Our  two  solitary  "  birdies"  were  piping  the  peculiar  notes 
of  the  Northern  wilderness,  the  salmon  were  leaping  and 
splashing,  and  I  longed  to  tackle  the  mate  of  the  silver  beau- 
ty lost  the  evening  previous. 

Having  already. soaked  my  casting-line,  I  shouldered  my 
heavy  and  lengthy  friend,  the  Castle  Connell  rod,  and  march- 
ed up  the  river  about  a  hundred  rods  to  where  a  bend  in  the 
shore  threw  the  current  out  around  the  eddy  rock.  I  select- 
ed a  medium  -  sized  fly  with  purple  body,  blue  legs,  brown 
mallard  wings,  and  golden  pheasant  top -knot  for  the  tail. 
Then  I  commenced  casting  out  toward  the  middle  of  the  riv- 
er, and  letting  the  fly  float  down  and  around  to  near  the 
shore.  About  my  third  cast  brought  a  bite  and  a  leap  that 
made  my  heart  palpitate  with  anxiety.  I  played  him  about 
half  an  hour,  he  once  and  a  while  running  ofi"  about  two  hun- 
dred feet  of  line,  and  then  coming  back  as  tame  and  cosy  as 
possible,  until  by-and-by  his  patience  became  exhausted,  and 
he  thought  he  would  start  up  the  river  a  hundred  miles  or  so 
to  the  spawning-beds.     He  navigated  the  rapid  about  twen- 

*  It  is  asserted  as  a  truth  by  border  settlers  that,  when  burning  off  a  sum- 
mer fallow,  and  the  smoke  no  longer  protects  cattle  in  contiguous  pastures, 
that  they  run  lowing  to  the  house  to  have  the  fire  renewed ;  and  it  is  some- 
times necessary  that  they  shnll  stand  in  dense  smoke  to  enable  them  to  re- 
main still  long  enough  to  be  milked. 


I 


Get  fairly  Vanquished.  235 

ty  rods  above,  but  I  turned  him,  when  he  went  down  stream 
much  faster  than  it  was  convenient  for  me  to  follow ;  but  he 
stopped  to  rest  where  I  hooked  him,  and  glad  enough  was  I, 
for  the  morning  was  oppressively  warm,  and  my  rest  had  not 
been  of  the  most  refreshing  kind  during  the  previous  night. 
Here  I  began  to  call  loudly  for  a  gafter,  and  presently  I  saw 
the  doctor's  demijohn  form  approaching  with  a  gaff,  and 
closely  following  was  the  general.  By  the  time  they  arrived 
my  friend  had  concluded  to  return  to  sea,  and  started ;  but 
he  soon  found  a  resting-place,  and,  while  playing  him  here, 
the  general  insisted  so  strongly  against  playing  him  too  gen- 
tly that  I  put  a  little  more  stress  on  the  line.  The  fish  rol- 
licked around  the  pool,  and  showed  his  whole  size  and  beau- 
ty, when  my  friends  judged  that  he  would  weigh  over  thirty 
pounds.  I  thought  so  too,  and  played  with  great  care.  But 
the  salmon  became  impatient  of  restraint,  and  started.  He 
had  not  darted  more  than  a  hundred  feet  before  the  hook 
sprang  back  to  me,  and  he  went  on  his  way  rejoicing,  while 
my  friends  returned  to  the  tents. 

I  felt  as  if  I  needed  a  strong  glass  of  lemonade  with  a  stick 
in  it  to  sustain  me ;  but,  being  strictly  temperate — that  morn- 
ing— I  sauntered  back  to  the  point  above  the  eddy  where  I 
had*  hooked  my  recently-departed  friend.  There  I  examined 
the  fly  and  hook  with  care,  and  found  it  secundum  arteni. 
After  becoming  sufficiently  rested,  I  made  a  cast,  and  at  once 
hooked  another  salmon  about  the  same  size  as  the  one  which 
had  just  unhooked.     On  realizing  that  my  fish  was  on,  with 

ia  slight  jerk  I  fastened  the  hook,  in  order  to  play  him  ginger- 
t  ly  if  he  wanted  to  "  gallivant  and  cavort"  some.  Two  or  three 
:  times  he  revealed  his  enormous  size  and  great  symmetry,  so 
•  that  I  felt  quite  sure  I  had  hooked  the  mate  of  the  first  one. 
[  This  also  remained  half  an  hour  trying  small  tricks  about  the 
I  pool,  when  all  at  once  he  dashed  away  across  the  current, 
I  and,  on  rising  to  the  surface,  I  distinctly  saw  the  line  wound 
three  times  round  him.  After  this  he  plunged  and  leaped 
up,  down,  and  across  the  river,  until  he  liberated  himself,  and 


I 


236  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

took  my  fly.  Well,  thought  I,  salmon  of  such  great  size,  in 
so  large  and  rapid  a  river,  should  be  fished  for  with  leaders 
or  casting-lines  of  double  gut  all  the  way.  I  will  return  to 
tent,  and  try  to  rig  gut  leaders  to  hold  them. 

The  situation  of  our  menage  began  to  look  inviting ;  and 
with  the  birch  bark  gathered  by  our  gaffers,  and  the  illus- 
trated papers  and  magazines,  our  log  cabin  and  dining-room 
were  cheerfully  ornamented  by  the  ladies,  and  the  menu  of 
our  dinner  would  not  have  dishonored  a  metropolitan  hotel. 
The  gaffers'  shanty  was  finished,  and  the  cuisine  attractively 
arranged  in  order.  •  After  dinner,  numerous  sentiments  wor- 
thy of  the  day  we  were  commemorating — it  being  the  glori- 
ous Fourth  of  July  —  were  given,  and  we  made  the  welkin 
ring  with  shouts  and  music. 

The  evening  was  spent  in  tying  flies,  and  concluded  by  ex- 
amining the  lunar  bow  through  the  smoke  of  a  camp-fire  and 
the  bottoms  of  our  punch-glasses  until  the  near  approach  of 
midnight,  when  we  retired  to  fight  again  the  battles  of  tho 
day  in  our  dreams,  and  to  mingle  in  them  the  faces  of  :be- 
loved  ones  far  awa. 

SECTION  SIXTH. 

HISTORY    AND    RUMINATION. 

Neither  the  Greeks  nor  Romans  knew  any  thing  about  an- 
gling for  salmon.  The  Saxons  knew  not  the  real  luxury  of 
angling.  A  thorough  appreciation  of  angling  can  only  be 
known  by  man  civilized.  "  Catch  who  catch  can"  is  the 
motto  by  which  savages  are  guided,  and  the  surest  means  of 
killing  game  is  to  them  the  best.  Savages  kill  solely  to  eat. 
They  know  no  better,  and  lack  the  genius  of  the  civilized 
poacher  to  invent  stake  and  concealed  nets.  Civilization  en- 
ables the  true  sportsman  to  adopt  suitable  means  to  secure 
sport,  and  as  civilized  men  enjoy  a  more  prosperous  condition 
than  savages,  they  are  not  so  dependent  on  the  fish  or  game 
they  take  or  kill.  Hence  the  sportsmen  of  the  civilized  world 
can  afford  to  give  the  animal  pursued  some  fair-play  "  law," 


\ 


Saw  the  North  Pole.  2'^ 

supposing  the  nature  of  the  prey'  entitled  to  it.  But,  in  the 
opinion  of  an  uncivilized  people,  to  allow  a  quarry  or  a  shoal 
the  smallest  chance  of  escape  would  be  considered  great  folly. 
To  the  ignorance  and  cruelty  of  the  poacher  may  be  attribu- 
ted the  reason  for  the  robbing  of  salmon-rivers  of  their  life 
and  beauty.  Existence  could  not  have  been  so  enjoyable  to 
the  angler  in  either  the  palmy  days  of  Greece  or  Rome,  or 
during  any  era  since,  while  robbing  the  rivers  of  salmon  was 
pursued,  as  it  is  in  our  day,  when  science  revives  sport  aftd 
invents  generous  means  for  its  perpetuity. 

Xes  travaux  sur  les  Poissons  se  sont  singuli&nnent  multi- 
plies durant  la  periode  qui  s'etend  de  Vepoque  de  la  mort  de 
Cuvier  an  moment  actud. 

Having  flown  in  my  cogitations  from  Greece  to  Rome,  and 
from  thence  to  the  British  Isles  and  part  way  back  to  France, 
where  I  endeavored  to  think  in  French,  and  as  if  in  danger 
of  being  overcome  by  a  fresh  swarm  of  musquitoes,  I  supposed 
myself  aroused  by  their  singing,  when,  to  my  surprise,  on 
looking  up,  it  was  the  doctor  at  the  door  of  my  tent,  insist- 
ing in  stentorian  tones  that  I  should  get  up.  I  asked  him 
the  time  of  night,  and  he  replied  that  it  was  beautiful. 

There  is  no  use  to  contend  with  a  doctor,  and  so  I  arose, 
when,  before  my  tent  door,  he  was  complacently  seated  on  a 
bench,  with  a  smudge  fire  and  the  boiling  tea-kettle  on  one 
side,  a  bowl  of  loaf-sugar  on  the  other,  and  a  bottle  of  old 
Jamaica  before  him.  Being  already  dressed,  for  I  slept  with 
ray  overcoat,  body-coat,  and  boots  on,  between  army  blank- 
ets on  an  India-rubber  one,  and  yet  was  generally  cold  to- 
ward morning,  I  concluded  to  join  the  doctor  and  learn  what 
new  system  of  philosophy  or  astronomy  he  was  prepared  to 
propound.  With  looks  of  amazement,  he  pointed  to  the  bril- 
liant aurora  horealis  in  darts  shooting  up  through  the  lu- 
nar bow  like  streams  of  gold  and  fire  through  a  rainbow ! 
We  viewed  it  with  unstinted  admiration  until  he  composed 
a  hot  rum  punch.  We  then  examined  the  aurora  borealis 
and  lunar  bow  through  the  bottoms  of  our  glasses,  and  the 


238  Fishing  in  Ajuerican  Waters. 

sight  was  really  gorgeous  !  After  three  or  four  similar  rejj- 
etitions,  we  agreed  that  we  saw  the  North  Pole  distinctly, 
heading  Sir  John  Franklin's  grave,  and  the  bow,  spears,  and 
stars  of  the  aurora  horealis  were  merely  the  flag  over  Frank- 
lin's tomb.  • 

While  the  doctor  was  evolving  a  new  theory  of  mundane 
matters,  only  to  be  understood  by  draining  a  dose  of  diffusi- 
bility,  John  appeared.  He  was  greatly  excited,  but  breath- 
less. So  soon  as  he  recovered  power  of  utterance  he  said, 
"  Gintlemen,  bedad  there's  a  bear  just  foment  yees !  I  see'd 
him." 

"  Well,  John,"  we  replied, "  how  did  he  look  ?" 

"Bedad  he  was  as  big  as  an  elephant,  and  had  a  tail  as 
long  as  meself,  and  as  big  around,  be  gorrah  !" 

"  How  long  was  he  ?"  we  inquired. 

"  Bedad  he  was  as  long  as  I  can  reach  with  my  two  arms." 

"  What  color  was  he  ?" 

"  Be  gorrah,  to  tell  the  thruth,  I  couldn't  see  his  color  pre- 
cisely." 

"  Was  he  green  ?" 

"  No,  yer  honors,  not  perzactly.  I  should  say  he  was  more 
brownish." 

"  We  supposed  so,  John ;  it  is  a  fox." 

"  No,  no,  yer  honors !  Dr.  Bluff,  of  the  First  Fusileers,  said 
h6'd  often  see'd  bears  here,  an'  I  think  the  beast  I  seed  is 
won." 

"  This  was  at  the  shoot,  twenty-seven  miles  farther  up  the 
river,"  we  replied;  and  just  then  the  halo  of  the  rising  sun 
began  to  illuminate  the  eastern  horizon,  and  teach  ns  to  pre- 
pare for  the  fresh-run  salmon  which  had  arrived  that  morning 
from  their  visit  to  the  sea.  Having  consulted  our  watches, 
and  learned,  to  our  surprise,  that  it  was  only  three  o'clock, 
and  as  our  gaffers  were  still  asleep,  we  reluctantly  retired  to 
our  tents  and  to  sleep  until  called  to  breakfast. 

As  it  was  our  custom  to  rest  the  salmon-pools  during  the 
best  part  of  the  day  for  angling,  in  order  to  protect  the  river 


( 


i 


Racing  aix)ng  the  River. 

from  too  great  a  depletion  by  our  captivating  flies,  we  start- 
ed to  fish  our  several  pools  at  the  time  of  the  forenoon  when 
the  salmon  seeks  the  shady  side  of  a  rock  in  the  river,  and 
which  had  perceptibly  fallen  during  the  previous  night,  so 
that,  from  its  clearness,  we  could  distinctly  see  numerous  sal- 
mon lying  in  pairs  beside  the  rocks.  They  were  very  inter- 
esting to  look  at,  but  it  was  hard  to  induce  a  rise.  Presently 
the  general,  who  had  been  angling  at  the  falls  a  mile  above, 
was  seen  approaching,  and  doing  some  pretty  tall  walking, 
now  in  the  river  and  then  on  the  shore,  following  a  salmon 
as  best  he  could,  for  the  fish  seemed  determined  to  return  to 
sea.  Down  they  came,  passing  us,  while  the  perspiration 
streamed  from  the  general's  face,  and  he  was  too  busy  to  re- 
turn our  salutations,  but  he  finally  brought  the  fish  to  gaff. 

In  a  short  time  thereafter  the  doctor  was  seen  coming  at 
the  speed  of  two-forty  on  his  rejoicing  way  down  the  river 
from  the  falls,  led  by  a  large  salmon.  We  soop  saw  that  the 
salmon  was  playing  the  doctor,  who,  finding  that  he  was  los- 
ing strength,  called  lustily  for  help,  wliich  was  instantly  rqu- 
dered,  and  a  twenty-four  pound  salmon  was  soon  p}ayed  out 
and  landed.  The  doctor  retired  to  his  tent  and  was  not  seen 
again  until  the  next  morning,  when  he  said, "  It's  heaveijly  to 
play  a  generous  salmon,  but  when  he  turns  the  tables  and 
plays  you,  he's  worse  than  the  cholera !"    . 

It  was  the  banker's  turn  next,  and,  thoroughly  aroused  and 

divested  of  his  dignity,  down  he  came,  skipping  over  rooks 

and  through  brush  at  a  very  rapid  rate.     Down  he  came  to 

Rattling  Run,  and  brought  his  fifth  salmon  to  gaff  that  day, 

^K  the  largest  twenty,  and  the  smallest  eleven  pounds. 

The  doctor's  serious  intent  at  evoking  a  reliable  theory 
for  the  brilliant  coruscations  near  the  northern  horizon  pre- 
^B  vented  him  from  risking  the  play  of  another  salmon  until  he 
^B^ould  quite  recover  from  his  last  encounter.  In  the  mean 
^^Bime,  every  fresh  contest  with  a  salmon  increased  my  respect 
^^ppr  the  fish ;  and  I  lost  so  many  in  proportion  to  the  great 
«•      number  hooked,  that  I  began,  when  my  fly  was  first  taken, 


240  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

to  realize  an  indescribable  sensation  of  nervous  hesitancy ; 
and  the  more  gentle  he  appeared  when  first  hooked,  the  more 
I  dreaded  the  fight  that  I  knew  must  come,  sooner  or  later ; 
for  a  salmon  never  surrenders  until  he  faints.  As  the  waters 
settled  until  as  transparent  as  ether,  the  fish  became  not  only 
more  shy,  but  they  gave  better  play  and  were  harder  to  ex- 
haust. They  bit  gingerly  and  short.  I  had  ample  opportu- 
nity for  testing  some  theories  which  had  been  told  me  by  an- 
glers with  great  seriousness.  One  of  them  is,  that  "  if  a  sal- 
mon rises  to  your  fly  and  misses  it,  you  should  not  cast  again 
immediately,  because  he  is  sure  to  settle  back  before  rising. 
You  had  better,  therefore,  light  a  segar  and  smoke  half  of  it, 
or  take  a  glass  of  sherry,  and  rest  the  pool  at  least  fifteen 
minutes  before  repeating  the  cast."  This  I  ascertained  to  be 
all  bosh.  Once,  in  particular,  a  salmon  took  my  fly  at  the 
fourth  cast,  though  having  rose  to  it  at  every  previous  one 
and  missed  it,  while  I  repeated  my  casts  with  as  little  sus- 
pense as  if  angling  for  brook  trout.  A  salmon  will  return  to 
the  fly,  if  he  rose  to  ijt  in  earnest  at  first,  as  often  as  will  a 
trout ;  but  either  fish,  when  pricked  by  a  fly-hook,  will  refuse 
to  come  again  until  he  forgets  it.  Again  it  is  said  that  "  if 
you  hook  a  salmon  and  he  parts  your  tackle,  taking  your 
hook  and  a  piece  of  the  gut  snell  to  which  it  was  attached, 
he  will  not  rise  to  an  artificial  fly  again  that  season."  This 
is  also  a  mistake ;  for  the  gentleman  who  awns  the  "  York 
River,"  Gaspe,  fished  with  a  friend  who»  lost  a.  hook  and  part 
of  a  leader  by  a  salmon  one  morning  last  July,  and  on  the 
evening  of  that  day  took  the  salmon  with  the  hook  and  gut 
still  in  his  mouth ;  and  what  appears  most  singular  is  that 
he  hooked  the  salmon  with  the  same  kind  of  fly  that  was 
then  fastened  to  the  jaw  of  the  fish. 


I 


I 


Hot  Days  and  Cold  Nights.  241 

SECTION  SEVENTH. 

JOLLY   SPORT    OX    RATTLING    RUN. 

"  Oh !  not  in  camp  or  court 
Our  best  delights  we  find, 
But  in  some  loved  resort 

With  water,  wood,  and  wind ; 
Where  nature  works, 
And  beauty  lurks. 
In  all  her  craft  enshrined." 

The  days  were  divided  into  four  hours  of  night,  made  sciii- 
tillant  by  the  aurora  borealis,  and  the  lunar  bow  more  bril- 
liant than  daylight,  but  cool  and  hushed,  so  that  no  sounds 
remained  but  the  rushing  waters,  the  splashing  of  the  royal 
salmon,  and  the  piteous  cries  of  seals ;  three  hours  of  morn- 
ing, mild  and  serene,  enlivened  by  the  wild  music  of  the  birds 
of  the  wilderness  and  the  occasional  sounds  of  animals  forag- 
ing for  breakfast  in  the  mountain  forests  by  which  we  were 
'surrounded ;  fourteen  hours  of  a  day,  when  clear,  ranging  in 
the  sun  from  eighty  to  ninety  degrees  Fahrenheit ;  and  three 
hours  of  mild  twilight,  with  light  enough  to  read. 

The  morning  'was  clear  and  still ;  not  a  zephyr  swept 
through  the  gorge  by  the  falls,  or  came  up  laden  with  the 
fragrance  of  codfish  from  the  Gulf.  The  shrill  music  of  our 
two  charming  birds  and  an  occasional  splash  of  feeding  sal- 
mon were  the  only  sounds  which  relieved  the  monotone  of  the 
clear  and  rapid  river.  Our  plateau,  surrounded  by  majestic 
mountains,  steep  and  rocky,  formed  a  vast  amphitheatre. 
The  river  was  still  falling,  and  as  thin  and  clear  as  possible. 
Our  assembling  at  breakfast  proved  that  the  black  flies  had 
partially  desisted  from  scoring  us,  and  each  member  of  the 
party  felt  relieved  of  farther  danger  from  that  scourge.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  that  from  the  almost  unbearable  annoy- 
ance caused  by  the  punishment  from  black  flies  on  our  ar- 
rival, we  had  in  one  short  week  become  so  accustomed  to 
them  that  they  ceased  to  elicit  our  fear  or  attention. 

The  morning  time  to  angle  for  salmon  having  expired,  we 

Q 


242  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

regarded  the  river  as  having  been  protected,  and  the  pools 
rested  long  enough,  and  so  mounted  our  toggery  and  ar- 
ranged our  flies  for  the  fray.  It  was  the  doctor's  turn  for 
the  upper  pool,  at  the  foot  of  the  falls ;  the  general's  for  the 
bend  to  Rattling  Run ;  the  banker's  included  all  the  ojDposite 
of  the  river,  while  my  sporting-water  was  Rattling  Run,  and 
I  had  never  fished  it.  My  gaffer  was  wanted  elsewhere,  and 
the  doctor  most  generously  consented  to  supply  his  place. 
He  led  the  way  with  gaff  on  shoulder,  marching  up  to  the 
first  pool  with  an  elan  and  energy  which  meant  that  he  was 
determined  to  show-me  where  salmon  disported.  After  walk- 
ing half  a  mile  through  the  brush,  we  emerged  opposite  a  sal- 
mon-pool on  Rattling  Run.  The  run  was  about  twenty  rods 
wide,  with  shallow  water  three  quarters  of  the  distance  to 
the  opposite  bank.  The  doctor  pointed  to  the  pool  on  the 
opposite  shore,  and  told  me  that  a  salmon  made  a  feint  at  his 
fly  there  two  days  previously.  The  water  ran  swift  over  a 
pebbly  bed,  but  it  was  not  much  above  knee-deep  on  our  side 
of  the  pool.  I  waded  to  within  casting  distance  of  the  head 
of  the  pool,  and  commenced  casting  while  moving  slowly 
down  the  stream,  until,  having  made  half  a  dozen  casts,  and 
swept  the  surface  with  great  care,  I  delivered  my  fly  just 
above  a  rock  near  the  foot  of  the  pool,  where  a  salmon  made 
its  appearance  and  rose  to  take  the  fly,  but  missed  it.  The 
next  cast,  delivered  the  fly  beyond  and  below  the  rock,  in  the 
white-water  foam,  when  the  salmon  accepted  the  fly,  and  fast- 
ened good  and  strong.  Instead  of  turning  to  the  falls  just 
below,  he  shot  up  to  within  a  few  paces  of  me.  The  doctor, 
seeing  his  move,  ran  below  the  salmon  to  prevent  it  from 
dashing  down  the  chute.  For  a  full  half  hour  while  the  play 
lasted,  it  was  so  amusing  to  see  the  doctor  run  and  flourish 
the  gaff  in  his  endeavor  to  drive  the  salmon  to  the  pool 
above  that  I  could  hardly  restrain  my  laughter  enough  to 
stand  and  steady  the  fish's  head  occasionally  against  the  cur- 
rent. But  the  doctor  finally  conquered,  and  the  fish  became 
so  fatigued  that  the  doctor  took  Mm  out  of  the  wet  with  his 


Shakp  Contest  with  a  Salmon:.  243 

gaff,  when  it  scaled  twelve  pounds ;  and,  though  not  large,  it 
is  something  to  play  and  save  a  twelve-pound  salmon  with  a 
single  gut  in  a  swift  and  shallow  rapid  just  above  a  chute. 

We  now  proceeded  to  the  second  pool  above,  where  the 
doctor  seated  himself  to  rest  on  shore  and  watch  my  move- 
nlents.  Here  also  the  run  was  about  twenty  rods  wide,  with 
the  channel  along  the  bank  opposite.  I  therefore  waded  out 
so  as  to  cast  across  the  main  current,  and  let  my  fly  sweep 
round  to  the  eddy,  some  eighty  feet  below.  I  had  not  made 
many  casts  before  a  salmon  deliberately  swam  up  to  my  fly 
and  examined  it,  and  then,  as  if  suspicious,  turned  from  it 
like  electricity,  his  turn  forming  a  most  exciting  whirl.  In 
vain  I  cast  several  times  more,  but  the  run  was  too  wide  to 
deliver  my  fly  at  the  farther  shore,  where  was  a  deep  pool 
from  which  I  might  have  enticed  him.  But  we  gave  up  the 
chase  and  commenced  a  retuni,  the  doctor  walking  along 
the  shore,  and  I  wading  and  casting  as  I  went.  We  had  not 
gone  far  when  I  hooked  a  very  elegant  salmon.  There  was 
a  pool  on  each  side  of  the  run,  and  the  salmon  took  the  fly 
on  the  farther  side.  As  soon  as  the  fish  realized  that  he  was 
firmly  hooked,  he  came  across  the  run  for  the  pool  near  us. 
I  stood  in  the  water  nearly  between  the  two  pools,  but  rath- 
|er  above  them.  As  the  run  was  very  rapid  all  the  way  be- 
low until  it  entered  the  St.  John,  I  requested  the  doctor  to 
fall  below  the  salmon,  and  thus  prevent  the  fish  from  run- 
jning  the  chute.  The  doctor  waded  below  the  pool  on  the 
tleft,  and  as  he  saw  the  salmon  darting  for  that  pool,  he  ran 
[below,  to  prevent  the  fish  from  turning  down  stream  after  it 
;  should  learn  that  it  was  mistaken  in  finding  protection  where 
it  was  going  to  seek  it.  The  salmon  came  to  the  near  pool, 
and,  finding  no  assistance,  it  endeavored  to  sulk  a  li4;tle,  but 
finally  resolved  to  run  the  chute,  or  return  to  the  pool  at  the 
farther  shore. 

After  a  close  contest  of  an  hour's  duration,  in  which  the 
^salmon  passed  twice  between  the  doctor's  legs,  the  fish  was 
(brought  to  gaff",  and  weighed  fifteen  pounds.     On  returning 


244  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

to  dinner,  we  learned  that  our  friends  had  fished  hard  for 
modest  results.  By  the  supervisory  care  of  the  ladies,  the 
dinner  was  served  in  the  following  order  or  ynenu : 

Vegetable  soup. 

Boiled  salmon  and  fried  trout. 

Roast  mutton,  green  peas,  and  other  vegetables. 

Claret  wine,  tea,  bread  and  butter,  etc.,  concluding  with  n 
dessert  of  marmalade  and  dried  fruits. 

After  dinner  we  concluded  to  rest  the  pools,  burn  some  to- 
bacco,'and  tie  some  flies.  When  we  first  began  angling,  the 
preference  by  the  salmon  seemed  to  be  given  to  the  Montreal 
fly,  or  a  purple  body,  brown  mallard  wings,  and  tail  from  the 
top-knot  of  the  golden  pheasant;  but  within  the  last  two 
days  they  would  not  touch  it.  Their  next  favorite  was  a 
good  imitation  of  the  real  salmon  fly,  body  an&  wings  light 
gray;  but  after  a  couple  of  days  more  they  refused  all  flies 
but  those  with  a  preponderance  of  bright  yellow  and  orange, 
tied  on  a  very  small  hook.  The  double-hook  flies  were  the 
most  successful  in  bringing  salmon  to  gaff",  but  I  never  tried 
them;  and  it  is  contended  by  some  that  two  small  hooks  fall 
better,  aiid  are  more  attractive  than  a  single  one.  Forrest, 
of  Kelso,  is  the  favorite  fly-maker  with  Canadian  anglers,  and 
he  generally  ties  on  a  double  hook. 

SECTION  EIGHTH. 

FLY-FisHING   BELOW   THE    FALLS. 

* '  Below  the  Falls  of  St.  John,  from  deep  crevice  stealing, 
The  bright  salmon  watches  his  prey, 
And  when  mid  the  white  foam  some  stray  fly  lies  wheeling, 
Slyly  bears — slyly  bears  it  away. 

"  'Tis  thus  in  this  bright  world,  at  joys  without  measure, 
Unheeding,  we  ardently  spring, 
And  forget  that  oft  hid  by  the  plumage  of  pleasure 

Lies  a  hook — lies  a  hook  in  the  wing." — Stoddart. 

To  a  man  unaccustomed  to  the  broad,  rushing,  tumbling 
torrents  which  debouch  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  from  the 
north,  there  are  many  subjects  to  inspire  wonder,  and  some 


The  Angler  and  his  Gaffer. 


245 


tew  to  challenge  admiration.  The  bold  mountains  of  gray 
rock,  from  which  a  few  stinted  fir-trees  struggle  into  the 
light  of  day  above  the  fissures  and  dark  gorges,  are  sombre 
to  see  and  sublime  to  contemplate ;  and  the  rivers,  tumbling 
down  frantically  in  their  narrow  passage  between  high  walls 
of  solid  masonry,  would  appear  frightful  did  they  not  contain 
thousands  of  beautiful  salmon  and  trout,  which  make  their 
way  with  great  assiduity  to  clear  themselves  of  sea-lice  by 
the  action  of  fresh  water,  dep.osit  their  eggs,  and,  when  warn- 


246  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

ed  by  fresh-water  parasites,  return  to  sea  to  recuperate  and 
fatten  preparatory  to  another  visit  up  the  river  to  their 
spawning-grounds. 

One  day,  while  fishing  the  pool  below  the  falls,  I  felt  a 
tug,  and  as  my  reel  spun  round  whir !  whir ! !  whir ! ! !  I 
raised  my  rod  to  a  perpendicular,  when — the  reel  still  con- 
tinuing— I  saw  three  leaps  at  once,  each  fish  leaping  fasten- 
ed to  my  fly.  Thought  I, "  If  you  make  three  leaps  at  once 
there  is  small  chance  of  saving  you,"  and  so  it  resulted.  By 
the  manoeuvre,  it  formed  a  bight  in  my  line  and  unhooked. 

My  captures  were  very  fair  that  day,  and  it  is  a  remarka- 
bly interesting  pool  to  fish ;  but  the  river  was  so  low,  and 
its  waters  so  transparent,  that  I  could  count  scores  of  salmon 
lying  in  pairs  by  the  rocks,  awaiting  a  rise  in  the  river  to  help 
them  surmount  the  chute. 

The  next  morning  I  fished  the  same  pool  from  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  and  in  response  to  my  second  or  third  cast 
I  hooked  a  large  salmon,  which  ran  out  to  the  middle  of  the 
river  and  took  nearly  all  the  line  off  my  reel,  when  it  made 
a  leap  about  twenty  feet  up  the  river,  and  several  feet  above 
the  water,  and  the  swiftness  of  the  current  made  such  a  bight 
in  my  line  that  its  weight  parted  the  single  leader,  though  I 
dipped  the  point  of  the  rod  as  I  saw  the  leap  coming.  As 
my  line  came  back  I  felt  despondent  at  losing  such  a  beauti- 
ful fish ;  but  I  venture  to  state  that  no  angler,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, could  have  saved  it.  Such  is  salmon-angling. 
You  must  use  a  single  gut  for  the  half  of  your  casting-line 
toward  the  end,  and  tie  your  fly  on  a  single  gut,  or  you  will 
be  regarded  as  a  coarse  angler,  and  all  your  large  scores  will 
count  you  naught  as  an  artist  at  angling.  Here  are  salmon 
in  a  broad,  rapid  river,  large  enough  to  try  the  strongest 
striped-bass  tackle ;  and  yet  they  are  to  be  taken  on  a  single 
gut,  and  played  from  half  an  hour  to  three  hours  to  bring  to 
gaff.  Add  to  the  delicacy  of  play  necessitated  from  the  light- 
ness of  tackle  the  fact,  also,  that  the  mouth  of  a  salmon  is  very 
tender.     These  are  points  to  be  noted  if  you  would  angle  for 


Salmon  Leaps  and  Spray-bows.       247 

salmon.  No  one  ever  hears  of  a  string  of  salmon,  for  the  very- 
good  reason  that  their  bodies  are  so  heavy  and  gills  so  ten- 
der that  they  will  not  sustain  their  weight. 

I  put  on  another  fly  and  cast  again.  For  some  time  my 
eyes  were  not  blest  with  the  sight  of  a  rise ;  but  by-and-by 
a  salmon  accepted  the  fly  in  earnest  and  fastened.  The  prick 
of  the  hook  gave  it  such  a  shock  that  it  bounded  and  leaped 
three  or  four  times,  as  quick  as  thoughtf  several  feet  above 
the  water.  Finding  itself  still  hooked,  it  came  toward  me, 
and  I  retreated,  for  fear  that  too  acute  an  angle  of  the  line 
and  rod  might  enable  it,  by  a  salmon  dash,  to  break  the  top 
of  my  rod.  I  therefore  walked  backward,  and  the  salmon  fol- 
lowed me  until  within  five  feet  of  the  shore.  It  then  turned 
as  quick  as  lightning,  and  whir !  whir !  whir ! !  went  my  reel. 
Another  leap  showed  it  to  be  in  the  middle  of  the  current, 
with  but  little  line  remaining  on  my  reel,  and  a  reef  of  rocks 
rising  above  the  water  between  me  and  the  salmon.  I  at 
once  saw  that  it  might  extricate  itself  and  take  my  fly  and 
some  of  the  line ;  but  it  misjudged  its  own  situation,  and 
started  to  leap  the  falls.  By  its  failure  I  turned  its  head 
shoreward,  and  brought  it  within  a  rod  of  me,  when  it  took 
fright  again  and  started  down  the  river.  After  checking  and 
turning  it,  back  it  came  to  me,  gentle  as  possible,  leaping  oc- 
casionally, as  if  it  was  its  nature,  for  I  should  have  thought  a 
fish  so  circumstanced  would  have  swam  low;  but  no  —  all 
game  fish  are  alike  in  that  respect.  Although  the  salmon 
had  become  used  to  my  appearance,  it  still  distrusted  me,  and 
started  out  into  the  current  again.  There  he  leaped  a  few 
times,  and  finally  consented  to  be  led  back ;  but  when  it  gain- 
ed sight  of  the  gaff  it  shot  off  again,  though  I  could  both  see 
and  feel  that  it  was  losinoj  strenorth.  After  two  or  three 
more  visits  to  the  shore  it  became  weakened,  and  Duncan 
gaffed  it.  The  fish  weighed  only  sixteen  pounds,  but  it  was 
the  prettiest  salmon  that  I  had  ever  seen.  Above  the  line, 
from  gill  to  tail,  it  was  a  light  and  brilliant  salmon  color,  and 


248  Fishing  in  American  WatiIes. 

ing  how  beautiful !  There  is  nothing  more  beautiful  than  a 
fresh-run  salmon  when  first  taken,  neither  is  there  any  pen- 
cil capable  of  creating  its  apparent  counterpart.  To  feel  a 
salmon  fast  to  your  fly  and  see  its  leap  is  alone  worth  a  voy- 
age to  Canada  to  experience. 

Again  I  swept  the  pool  with  care  and  got  a  rise.  As  I 
could  not  allure  the  beauty  to  a  second  attempt,  I  concluded 
to  rest  the  pool  and  go  to  the  foot  of  the  plain  water,  where 
I  saw  the  salmon  disporting  like  dolphins  just  above  the 
rapid.  The  bed  of  the  river  was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
wide,  and  shallow  on  my  side.  I  therefore  waded  out,  and 
after  a  few  casts  hooked  a  large,  vigorous  salmon.  After  a 
high  leap  it  struck  out  to  the  middle  of  the  river.  Then  it 
made  numerous  rushes  and  leaps,  with  turns  and  sweeps,  un- 
til finally  the  hook  sprang  back  to  me,  and  let  the  twenty- 
pounder  go  on  its  way  rejoicing.*  Very  soon  I  hooked  an- 
other, and  it  attempted  to  run  the  rapid ;  but  I  checked  it  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  below,  where  it  stopped  to  sulk  behind  a 
rock,  and  before  it  formed  another  plan,  my  man  Duncan 
watched  his  chance  and  gafied  it. 

Again,  after  half  an  hour's  playing,  I  succeeded  in  losing  a 
very  large  fi*esh-run  salmon.  I  felt  mortified,  and  so  con- 
cluded on  returning  to  the  head  of  the  stretch  to  learn  the 
intentions  of  the  large  fish  which  had  offered  before  I  left, 
and  for  which  I  rested  the  pool.  I  went  to  the  head  of  the 
pool  and  swept  it  along  down  until  I  came  to  where  I  got  the 
rise  before  I  left ;  but  it  had  either  leaped  the  chute  or  gone 
from  home,  and  after  a  few  rises  but  no  strikes,  I  returned  to 
dinner.  "  Moving  large  fish,  however,  is  held  by  every  true 
angler  only  second  to  hooking  them ;  but  many  persons  are 
apt  to  despise  the  most  skillful  and  patient  efforts  unless 
crowned  with  immediate  success."  This  is  the  exjDerience 
of  John  Colquhoun  and  every  true  angler. 

Next  morning,  by  dint  of  perseverance  and  continued  ef- 
fort,! finally  hooked  a  salmon  at  the  foot  of  the  pool,  and  just 
at  that  moment  a  loud  crackling  was  heard  in  the  thick  un- 


Day-dreams  and  exciting  Sport.  249 

derwood  along  the  shore,  and  Duncan  called  my  attention  to 
a  bear  that,  having  discovered  us,  was  making  off  with  all  the 
speed  possible.  I  could  not  turn  to  look  from  my  salmon,  for 
it  had  not  yet  decided  upon  what  course  of  tactics  to  pursue. 
After  a  few  minutes,  when  the  salmon  had  concluded  to  run 
the  hook  out,  I  turned  to  see,  but  the  bear  was  no  longer  in 
sight.  After  several  runs,  tacks,  shifts,  sweeps,  and  leaps,  I 
brought  the  salmon  home  as  gentle  as  a  kitten,  so  that  it 
seemed  a  pity  to  gaff  it. 

My  friends  had  been  fully  as  lucky  as  I  had,  and,  as  the 
flies  were  disappearing,  and  we  had  examined  our  plateau, 
walled  by  mountains  and  watered  by  beautiful  rivers,  we 
concluded  to  digest  a  good  dinner  by  admiring  the  works  of 
nature  and  enjoying  the  aurora  borealis  and  lunar  bow. 

Rosy  were  our  dreams ;  but,  be  it  remembered,  one  of  the 
party  began  to  sigh  for  Susan  Jane. 

The  following  day,  and  for  several  days  thereafter,  the 
sport  was  about  the  same.  The  river  soon  began  to  shrink 
and  clarify,  and  as  the  salmon  became  more  scarce,  the  num- 
bers of  sea  trout  increased.  Sea  trout  are  precisely  like  those 
of  Long  Island.  Their  voyage  to  sea  renders  them  as  white 
and  plump  as  are  those  of  the  Willows,  below  Oba.  Snedicor's, 
and  perhaps  cleaner  and  whiter ;  but  they  are  the  same  fish 
in  ichthyological  peculiarity. 

The  next  day  that  I  fished  Rattling  Run  I  took  two  salmon 
at  its  mouth,  where  the  eddy  was  formed  by  the  confluence 
with  the  St.  John;  and  I  cast  again  to  the  foot  of  the  rapid, 
where  my  fly  was  usually  drawn  into  the  eddy,  and  before 
it  fairly  touched  the  water  a  salmon  took  it,  and  leaped  some 
ten  feet  up  stream,  dropping  it  while  thus  leaping.  As  I  saw 
the  fly  fall,  I  was  in  the  act  of  retrieving  my  line,  when  an- 
other salmon  was  fast  to  the  fly,  and  I  broke  the  top  of  my 
rod.  This  proved  to  me  that  the  movement  of  a  salmon  is 
too  swift  to  be  followed  by  the  eye.     I  played  and  killed  the 

tlmon  after  the  rod  was  broken,  and  my  gaffer  landed  him. 
— 


250  Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 

great  improvement  on  the. Castle  Connell  rod)  the  shoal  had 
either  passed  by,  or  otherwise  had  concluded  to  decline  my 
flies,  and  I  was  obliged  to  forego  the  amusement  of  again 
playing  a  salmon  that  day. 

As  there  appeared  no  prospect  for  the  river  rising  soon,  we 
began  to  think  seriously  of  dividing  the  party,  and  two  of  us 
taking  gaffers  and  canoes,  and  going  to  the  upper  falls,  twen- 
ty-seven miles  above.  The  next  morning,  however,  was  show- 
ery, and  the  river  had  risen  more  than  a  foot  during  the  night ; 
we  therefore  concluded  to  defer  going  up  the  river  until  the 
prospective  rain  should  have  subsided.  The  fitful  showers 
of  the  morning  increased  to  a  steady  and  heavy  rain  in  the 
afternoon,  and  both  the  general  and  banker  met  with  fine 
sport,  taking  several  salmon  of  fine  size.  This  day  the  gen- 
eral evinced  a  commendable  perseverance,  for,  in  the  heaviest 
shower,  if  a  salmon  parted  his  line  and  carried  away  his  fly, 
he  would  forthwith  stop  where  he  was,  and  tie  a  fly  in  a 
drenching  rain,  attach  it  to  his  leader,  and  proceed  to  casting. 
He  lost  several  large  fish  that  day,  and  saved  only  three; 
one  of  these  he  hooked  in  the  pectoral  fin  of  the  left  side  of 
the  fish,  on  the  opposite  side  from  the  general,  as  the  fish 
started  down  stream,  leading  the  general  at  double-quick 
time.  I  was  sweeping  the  pool  at  the  mouth  of  Rattling 
Run  when  I  saw  the  general  hastening  down  the  St.  John, 
along  the  shore.  The  rain  was  drenching.  He  wore  rubber 
overalls,  overcoat,  and  hat ;  the  brim  of  his  hat  turned  under 
across  the  forehead,  giving  him  the  air  of  enthusiasm  so  fine- 
ly represented  in  the  picture  of  Napoleon  when  he  commenced 
crossing  the  Alps.  Of  course  there  was  the  slight  difference 
of  our  general  being  on  foot ;  but,  with  his  rod  stretching 
high  in  air,  the  storm  catching  his  loose  garment,  the  hat 
with  brim  turned  under  and  giving  it  the  military  chapeau 
shape,  the  tout  ensemble  was  all  energy  and  action.  Down 
swept  the  general.  Rattling  Run  had  swollen  considerably, 
and  was  three  feet  deep  and  very  rapid  just  above  the  mouth, 
into  which  the  general  dashed  and  waded  across,  holding  on 


( 


Very  Tall  Walking.  251 

to  his  fish,  which  he  thought  a  forty-pounder  at  least !  His 
gaffer  followed  close  behind,  and  was  about  to  embark  the 
general  in  a  canoe  to  follow  the  salmon  down  the  river ;  but 
the  fish  stopped  in  the  pool  where  I  was  angling,  and  after  a 
play  of  less  than  half  an  hour  the  general  brought  it  to  gaff, 
when  it  weighed  1 7^  lbs.  This  feat  was  the  greatest  of  the 
season ;  and,  had  not  the  fish  been  hooked  on  the  far  side  from 
the  general,  so  that  it  was  hard  to  maintain  an  equipoise,  it 
would  probably  have  torn  away.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
picture  of  ardor  and  energy  which  rushed  down  along  the 
shore  and  dashed  across  Rattling  Run,  speechless  with  won- 
der and  excitement.  At  dinner  we  canvassed  the  morning's 
sport,  and,  though  the  rain  dripped  slightly  through  the  bark 
roof  of  our  dining  arbor,  we  began  to  realize  that  a  home  in 
the  wilderness  possesses  an  indescribable  attraction,  and  the 
apparently  settled  rain  seemed  an  omen  for  better  fishing 
than  we  had  yet  enjoyed,  and  we  parted  that  night  to  our 
several  camps  with  a  renewed  stock  of  hope  and  pleasing  an- 
ticipation. 

SECTION  NINTH. 

THOUGHTS   OF   RETURNING   HOMEWARD. 

"  'Tis  a  midnight  fair  to  see, 
Wondrous  in  sublimity. 
Lingering  at  our  cabin  door, 
Fast  beside  the  river  shore, 
Dazzled  is  my  gazing  eye 
With  the  grandeur  of  the  sky. 
Clouds  are  flying  in  mad  chase 
O'er  the  moon's  benignant  face , 
In  the  blue  concave  of  air 
Stars  like  diamonds  gleam  and  glare, 
While  with  weird,  celestial  glow 
Springs  aloft  the  lunar  bow. 
See !  like  arch  triumphal,  high 
How  it  soareth  to  the  sky ; 
See !  like  heavenly  rainbow,  bent 
O'er  a  showery  finnament, 
How  its  gorgeous  columns  climb 
With  a  majesty  sublime." — Isaac  M'Lellan. 


252  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

Our  dreams  of  home  were  rosy.  Though  unlooked-for, 
modest  flushes  of  the  great  St.  John,  produced  by  summer 
showers  at  its  tributaries,  caused  temporary  hope,  yet  the 
stream  kept  gradually  narrowing  and  falling  so  fast  that  sal- 
mon refused  to  ascend  to  the  fluvial  j)art  of  the  river.  About 
the  20th  of  July  the  grilse  began  to  make  their  apj)earance, 
and  the  j)arr  rose  to  the  fly  in  the  most  plucky  manner, 
evincing  more  courage  than  their  grandparents. 

"At  length  the  morning  for  our  departure  has  arrived," 
said  one  of  our  party  while  returning  from  enjoying  his  last 
bath  of  the  season  in  Rattling  Run.  Instead  of  learning  from 
the 

*'  Tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
Sermons  in  stones," 

we  were  about  to  exchange  the  scenes  of  nature,  unadorned 
by  art,  for  the  crowded  mart,  and  the  hurry-scurry  of  aggre- 
gated humanity.  The  thoughts  which  made  bearable  the  re- 
flections called  forth  by  preparing  to  leave  our  home  of  free- 
dom, and  felicity  of  angling  for  salmon,  were  the  dearest  of.j 
earth  —  home,  family,  and  friends.  For  these  we  could  en- 
dure the  sights  of  striking  tents,  and  loading  the  bark  ca- 
noes for  our  departure  to  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Our  tents  were  struck,  tents,  trunks,  and  rubber  bags 
packed  before  breakfast.  None  but  the  experienced  can  re- 
alize how  lonely  appears  the  little  spot  of  ground  over  which 
his  tent  has  been  stretched  for  several  weeks,  but  of  which 
nothing  remains  except  the  boughs  of  the  fir-tree  which  rest- 
ed him,  and  gave  him  pleasant  dreams  for  many  nights.  We 
still  heard  the  salmon -leaping  and  splashing  in  the  river,  and 
the  two  lone  birds  piping  their  merry  notes,  though  our  tents 
were  removed  and  packed  in  the  canoes.  But,  shaking  off" 
the  sense  of  melancholy  which  I  felt  to  be  gaining  on  me,  I 
remembered  that  the  lines  of  true  anglers  always  fall  in 
pleasant  places,  and  so  adjourned  to  breakfast. 

As  the  general  had  decided  to  remain  and  see  the  salmon 
season  out,  'twere  wrong  to  deny  the  fact  that  leaving  him 


A  Farewell  Yiew.  •     253' 

and  his  lady  greatly  deepened  the  shade  of  our  feelings  at 
parting  from  the  peaceful  plateau.  But  we  all  put  on  cheer- 
ful faces  and  mixed  our  coifee  with  anecdotes.  Our  break- 
fast consisted  of  fried  or  broiled  trout,  broiled  grilse,  termed 
in  Canada  "f^'ewner,"  signifying  "breakfast."  By  others  it 
is  called  the  "  white  salmon."  Then  we  had  ham  and  eggs, 
hot  biscuit,  etc.  We  enjoyed  our  last  meal  as  well  as  cir- 
cumstances would  admit  under  the  conflicting  feelings  of  a 
hope  to  soon  see  our  families,  and  a  regret  that  the  lunar  bow 
and  aurora  borealis,  with  the  singing  birds,  would  have  to 
sing  and  shine  without  tis.' 

As  to  the  salmon  which  had  played  us,  and  at  numerous 
times  sold  us,  we  felt  as  if  we  would  have  liked  another  con- 
test with  them;  but  as  that  was  impossible  then  and  there, 
as  we  had  not  the  time  to  spare,  we  promised  those  of  them 
which  parted  from  us  with  our  hooks  as  nose-jewels,  and  oth- 
ers that — having  played  us  long  enough — sprang  the  hook 
out  of  their  beautiful  mouths,  that  if  we  hook  them  again 
they  will  not  get  off"  so  easily. 

After  breakfast,  and  all  being  ready  for  our  departure,  the 
stars  and  stripes  were  raised,  and  while  the  general  waved 
his  salmon-rod,  we  started,  and  a  salute  to  our  honor  was 
fired  from  our  only  cannon  as  we  parted  from  view  of  the  pla- 
teau and  disappeared  from  its  remahiing  inhabitants  around 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  at  the  bend  of  the  St.  John,  just  be- 
low the  entrance  of  Rattling  Run. 

Our  hearts  were  full  as  we  responsively  shouted  hurra ! 

Ye  rivers,  so  haunted  with  myriads  of  flies, 
Whose  flashes  of  salmon-breaks  gladden  the  eyes ; 
Scenes  where  the  brown  bear  roams  the  thick  brake  ; 
Scenes  where  the  seals  tlieir  gambolings  make ; 
When  shall  I  tread  your  fair  precincts  again  ? 
When  kindle  my  camp-fires  over  your  plain  ? 
When  again  cast  my  line  and  my  flies. 
Charming  my  senses — feasting  my  eyes  ? 

The  river  was  low  and  the  reefs  nearly  bare,  so  that  navi- 
gation was  not  so  safe  as  when  we  ascended ;  but  our  guides 


254  Fishing  in  American  -Waters. 

knew  how  to  manage  bark  canoes  better  than  to  speak  any 
language,  their  patois  being  a  medley  of  French,  Indian,  and 
English.  But  they  were  all  trusty  and  industrious,  as  all 
Canadian  guides  are.  It  is  best  that  each  angler  have  two 
guides  and  one  canoe ;  for,  though  one  man  only  is  needed  to 
attend  an  angler  for  gaffing  and  rowing  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  encampment,  yet  for  long  journeys  up  rapid  rivers 
two  men  are  indispensable.  Cabins  for  cooking  and  for  lodg- 
ing may  also  be  soon  erected,  and  they  are  preferable  to  port- 
able tents. 

•  The  River  St.  John  winds  like  a  seVpent  between  the  moun- 
tains, and  as  the  fall  from  our  plateau  to  the  mouth — 27  miles 
— is  more  than  150  feet,  the  rapids  are  very  swift;  so  that 
many  times  in  rounding  a  bend  we  surprised  a  family  of  seals 
teaching  their  young  to  catch  salmon,  wild  geese  with  their 
goslings,  ducks  with  their  broods,  and  expected  to  see  Bruin, 
but  didn't. 

The  row  down  the  river  was  most  pleasurable.  The  thin 
bark  canoe  responded  to  the  lashings  of  the  tide,  and  we  felt 
as  the  lobster-peddler  said, "  All  alive  !  all  alive !"  The  doc- 
tor, who  had  taken  a  front  seat  in  the  canoe,  with  his  coat  on 
and  broad-brimmed  hat,  had  found  the  passage  so  jolly  that 
— like  Obadiah  Oldbuck — he  had  turned  over  a  new  leaf  by 
taking  off  both  his  hat  and  coat,  and  remarked,  as  we  shot  a 
rapid, "  Let  her  went !" 

The  Indians  were  returning  up  the  St.  John  to  their  homes 
in  the  icy  regions,  having  disposed  of  their  furs  at  the  Min- 
gan  fair,  and  laid  in  a  winter  supply  of  flour  and  salt. 

It  was  all  vain  to  look  kindly  to  these  Esquimaux  squaws, 
who  are  really  beautiful,  with  their  olive  complexions,  raven 
locks,  and  lustrous  eyes.  They  are  wedded  to  the  forest.  We 
met  some  twenty  odd  Indian  canoes  ascending  the  river  to 
their  homes,  who  knew  enough  of  English  to  ask  "  Salmon 
plenty  ?"  But  very  few  would  make  so  bold  as  to  ask, "Has 
you  nothing  good  for  me  ?"  Of  course  they  do  not  suppose 
it  degrading  to  beg  from  civilized  men,  for  they  consider 


Welcomed  by  the  Dogs.  255 

them  as  appertaining  to  the  outer  world.  I  was  greatly- 
amused  by  their  appearances.  There  were  many  young  men 
among  them  who  displayed  great  taste  in  the  arrangement 
of  their  hair;  and  some  of  the  squaws  had  heads  of  locks 
worth  diamonds,  and  for  which  many  of  our  belles  would 
swap  their  eye-teeth,  of  best  manufacture,  for  similar  heads 
of  natural  growth. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  the  dogs  came 
from  some  thirty  cabins  to  welcome  us.  They  were  of  all 
kinds,  sizes,  and  colors,  and  their  salutations  were  most  wel- 
come. The  sight  and  hospitable  bark  of  our  own  kind  of 
dogs  gladdened  our  eyes  and  ears,  producing  a  charming  ef- 
fect. Having  landed  and  become  hospitably  housed  at  the 
quarters  of  the  government  agent,  while  our  guides  attended 
to  landing  our  luggage  and  cutting  fir-boughs  for  our  beds, 
we  jointed  our  trout-rods,  and  walked  a  short  distance  from 
the  cabin  to  the  sandy  shore  of  the  river,  where,  within  thir- 
ty minutes,  we  took  over  fifty  sea  trout  averaging  a  pound 
each.  I  frequently  fastened  two  at  a  time  on  the  same  cast 
of  flies  with  which  I  had  last  fished  on  Long  Island. 

SECTION  TENTH. 

THE    SILVER    OR   SEA    TROUT. 

This  fish  inhabits  for  nearly  half  the  year  the  tidal  waters 
of  the  streams  in  Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Newfoundland. 
It  is  also  taken  in  the  estuaries  of  rivers  in  Maine,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Long  Island.  Being  aware  of  the  high  authorities 
which  assert  this  to  be  a  distinct  family  of  the  Salmo  genus, 
I  must  beg  humbly  to  dissent ;  and  from  the  following  de- 
scription I  invite  anglers  to  decide  for  themselves  whether 
the  .sea  trout  is  not  the  Salmo  fontinalis,  or  brook  trout  com- 
mon to  the  streams  of  the  northern  part  of  North  America. 
The  sea  trout  is  similar  to  the  brook  trout  in  all  facial  pecu- 
liarities. It  is  shaped  Kke  the  brook  trout ;  the  vermiculate 
marks  on  the  back  and  above  the  lateral  line  ar6  like  those 
of  the  brook  trout ;  its  vermilion,  white,  and  amber  dots  are 


256 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


like  the  brook  trout's ;  its  fins  are  like  those  of  the  brook 
trout,  even  to  the  square  or  slightly  lunate  end  of- tail.  It  has 
the  amber  back  and  silver  sides  of  such  brook  trout  as  have 
access  to  the  estuary  food  of  the  eggs  of  different  fishes,  the 
young  of  herring,  mackerel,  smelt,  spearing,  shrimp,  and  even 
the  young  of  its  own  family  and  those  of  the  salmon.  Ow- 
ing to  this  food,  it  becomes  whiter  and  brighter  than  those 


The  Silver  ok  Sea  Tkout. — Trutta  Argentina  or  Trutta  marma. 

trout  which  inhabit  swampy  waters  impregnated  and  discol- 
ored by  decayed  vegetable  matter,  where  the  trout  are  con- 
fined without  the  power  of  visiting  salt  water.  All  the  au- 
thorities agree  that  the  sea  trout  spawns  at  the  heads  of 
fresh-water  streams,  ascending  from  the  estuary  in  August, 
and  not  returning  until  the  following  winter  and  spring. 
All  brook  trout  visit  the  heads  of  streams  in  autumn,  and 
return  to  the  lower  waters  at  the  close  of  winter.  Brook 
trout  of  mountainous  regions,  where  the  streams  run  through 
rocky  defiles  and  mountain  gorges,  or  through  a  sandy  soil, 
are  always  brighter  than  the  black-mouthed  trout  of  hemlock 
and  tamarack  swamps.  I  am  informed  that,  of  fifteen  trout- 
lakes  in  a  certain  part  of  Scotland,  there  are  not  two  lakes 
which  contain  trout  entirely  similar.  Even  the  famous  Gil- 
laroo  trout,  which  some  anglers  suppose  to  have  a  gizzard, 
has  merely  a  lump  in  its  stomach  fofmed  by  the  ^peculiarity 
of  the  clay  and  other  substances  on  which  it  feeds.     In  the 


United  States  and  the  Canadas  we  have  the  salmon,  the  sal- 


i 


Choice  Member  of  a  Fikst  Family.  257 

mon-trout  of  the  lakes,  the  brook  trout,  the  silver  or  sea 
trout,  which  I  believe  to  be  the  brook  trout,  the  white  trout, 
or  land-locked  salmon,  the  large  brown  trout  (Salmo  Cana- 
de7isis),  the  Mackinaw  trout,  the  winninish,  and  the  red  trout 
of  Long  Lake.  All  these  fishes  have  the  adipose  second  dor- 
sal, are  pinky-meated,  and  the  laminary  flakes  are  separated 
by  a  thin  curd  or  creamy  substance. 

The  real  salmon  of  different  waters  do  not  differ  so  much  in 
shape  and  surface-marks  as  do  either  the  brook  trout  or  the 
lake  trout,  though  old  fishermen  in  Canada  can  distinguish 
by  the  appearance  of  a  salmon  to  what  river  it  belongs;  so 
they  say,  at  least.  Twenty-five  salmon  of  some  rivers  will 
fill  a  barrel,  while  of  those  from  other  rivers  from  forty  to 
fifty  are  required ;  but  the  variety  in  size  constitutes  the 
chief  diff*erence. 

Our  little  party  continued  to  take  trout  daily  at  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  John  for  nearly  a  week,  until  a  schjooner  was  pre- 
pared to  convey  us  to  Gaspe.     The  silver  trout  is  indeed 
[.beautiful,  being  plump  and  round,  with  its  polished  sides 
glistening  brightly  with  a  satin  sheen  which  sparkles  with 
flowing  lustre  in  the  light.     Its  superior  condition  renders 
[it  plump,  the  meat  very  pinky,  and  the  play  very  vigorous, 
'he  only  drawback  that  I  experienced  in  taking  silver  trout 
'arose  from  too  many  offering  for  my  flies  at  a  time,  and  the 
little  ones  generally  succeeding  in  obliging  me  to  play  and 
;land  them,  when  I  had  seen  larger  ones  coveting  my  flies, 
land  leaping  at  them  for  a  taste.     It  was  surprising  to  note 
rthe  excitement  which  fly-fishing  for  trout  produced  among  the 
|Cod-fishing  families.     Men,  women,  and  children  followed  us 
'along  the  river,  and  gladly  received  all  the  smaller  trout. 
There  was  a  fleet  of  some  sixty  sail  of  cod  fishermen  in  the 
place,  and  their  hired  hands  "  shammed  Abram  to  be  idle"  in 
order  to  see  us  take  trout  on  our  flies  from  the  surface  of  the 
water.     It  was  an  easy  matter  to  take  in  two  hours  a  barrel 
'.of  trout  running  from  half  a  pound  to  four  pounds.     The  wa- 
ter was  so  perfectly  clear  that  we  could  occasionally  perceive 

R 


258  Fishing  m  American  Watees. 

a  lordly  salmon  move  majestically  among  the  speckled  beau- 
ties, no  doubt  waiting  for  a  shower  to  swell  the  waters,  and 
enable  him  to  start  on  his  perilous  voyage  to  the  spawning- 
grounds  near  the  head  of  the  river.  As  we  were  fishing  from 
the  beach  which  forms  the  breakwater  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  John,  my  attention  was  arrested  by  a  thirty-pound  sal- 
mon swimming  along  slowly  toward  the  mouth,  and  within 
easy  casting  distance  for  my  single-banded  trout-rod.  As  I 
was  admiring  him,  he  chanced  to  see  my  motion  in  casting, 
and  dashed  away  into  the  sparkling  surf  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river. 

Taking  trout  with  the  fly  is  always  more  or  less  interest- 
ing, but,  as  a  branch  of  sport,  it  dwindles  greatly  on  return- 
ing from  a  successful  trip  of  angling  for  salmon.  Broadway 
is  beautiful  to  those  who  have  never  visited  Paris ;  but  on 
returning  from  the  Boulevards^  the  Champs  Elysees^  and  the 
Bois  de  Boulogne,  the  beauties  which  he  contemplated  with 
admiration  before  he  left  New  York  lack  the  charm  of  artist- 
ic finish  and  the  picturesque  variety  which  youth  always  per- 
ceives, but  which  age  or  experience  can  not  discover  even 
with  the  aid  of  glasses. 

THE   WHITE   TROUT. 

While  the  fog  is  lifting  from  Schoodic  Lake, 
And  the  white  trout  are  leaping  for  flies, 

It's  exciting  sport  these  beauties  to  take, 
Jogging  the  nerves  and  feasting  the  eyes. 

This  trout  inhabits  Schoodic  and  Grand  Lakes  in  the  State 
of  Maine.  Although  it  is  eminently  a  lake  fish,  yet  it  is  found 
in  the  tributaries  and  outlets  near  the  lakes  named.  It  is 
similar  to  the  hirling  in  Scotland  in  the  peculiarity  of  its 
meat  varying  from  cream  to  mallow  color.  The  average  size 
of  the  white  trout  is  from  three  to  five  pounds'  weight,  and 
in  outline  it  is  between  the  salmon  and  the  brook  trout,  with 
the  top  of  head  and  color  of  dorsal  and  caudal  fins  black  and 
lustrous  as  velvet,  the  latter  crescent-shaped,  with  jet  spots 


Gajviy  and  Beautiful. 


259 


on  the  gill-covers  like  the  salmon.  The  mouth  is  furnished 
with  teeth  on  the  palate,  tongue,  vomerine,  palatine,.and  max- 
illary, like  those  of  the  brook  trout,  or  as  are  nearly  all  the 
young  of  the  JSalmonidcB ;  but  its  head  is  longer  than  that 
of  the  common  trout,  and  much  larger  in  proportion  than  the 
salmon's.  Its  scales  are  small,  and  the  body  is  entirely  white 
below  the  lateral  line,  and  very  light  gray  above  it,  all  shin- 
ing with  metallic  lustre.  It  is  better  game  than  any  other 
lake  family  of  the  genus  Salmo,  and  will  readily  take  the  fly 
on  the  surface  of  the  water.  With  a  two-handed  trout-rod, 
fifteen  feet  long,  a  person  unskilled  in  fly-fishing  has  taken 
over  a  hundred  in  three  hours  of  these  transcendent  beauties. 


The  White  Tkout. — Sal/no  albus. 

Some  persons  have  supposed  this  blonde  beauty  "  a  land- 
cked  salmon,"  than  which  nothing  can  be  much  more  ab- 
surd, for  it  has  the  common  egress  of  a  commodious  river 
which  debouches  in'  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  while  those  of  the 
kes  in  the  provinces  have  equally  favorable  avenues  of  es- 
cape.    No,  it  is  a  comparatively  new  luxury  to  the  American 
angler,  and  well  worthy  his  attention. 
Though  many  anglers  use  a  two-handed  fly-rod  for  taking 
e  white  trout,  yet  it  is  more  artistic  to  use  a  half-pound  fly- 
od  and  single  fly ;  the  cinnamon,  Montreal  with  claret  body 
d  brown  mallard  wing,  with  the  yellow  and  blue  profes- 
ors,  are  all  the  flies  needed  for  any  weather,  though  the 
coachman  of  white  wing  and  peacock's  herl  body  is  a  good 
lunset  fly,  and  the  red  ibis  wing  with  silver  body  sometimes 
kes  very  well. 

The  late  Rev.  Dr.  Bethune  regarded  this  fish  and  its  sport- 
e  ways  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  borders  of  Schoodic  lakes 


260  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

and  the  St.  Croix  River  still  retain  many  marks  of  his  en- 
campments. The  approaches  to  these  grounds  are  via  East- 
port  or  Calais,  Maine.  At  either  of  these  places  the  angler 
will  find  guides  to  the  aromatic  groves  which  overlook  the 
waters  where  the  white  trout  disport  in  shoals  of  thousands. 

THE   WINNINISH. 

"  At  early  dawn,  or  rather  when  the  air, 

Glimmering  with  fading  light,  and  shadowy  eve 
Is  busiest  to  confer  and  to  bereave, 

Then,  pensive  votary,  let  thy  feet  repair 

To  silent  lakes,  or  gentle  river  fair." 

This  fish  belongs  to  the  geniLS  Salmo^  and  tenants  the  up- 
per waters  of  the  Saguenay,  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  St.  John, 
in  Canada.  The  fish  runs  from  three  to  nine  pounds'  weight ; 
and  as  no  very  young  members  of  the  family  nor  the  spawn- 
ing-beds have  been  seen  by  the  hahitans  and  Indians  of  that 
region,  it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  they  breed  farther  north ; 
and  as  they  have  a  dorsal  fin  like  that  of  the  grayling,  it  is 
quite  probable  that  it  is  the  fish  written  of  by  an  officer  of 
the  expedition  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  whose  descrip- 
tion made  "  Frank  Forrester"  suppose  it  to  be  an  American 
grayling.  But  it  is  neither  the  grayling  nor  the  omhle  chev- 
alier^ but  a  rare  delicacy  of  the  frozen  latitudes  of  the  Cana- 
dian forests.  Professor  Agassiz  is  said  to  have  named  it  the 
Northern  charr. 


( 


The  Winninish. 


The  fins  of  the  winninish,  being  large  in  proportion  to  its 
size,  render  it  very  gamy.  It  sails  near  the  surface,  with  the 
top  of  dorsal  and  caudal  fins  in  view,  and  when  it  takes  the 


YeEY   rare   DELICxiCIES.  261 

fly,  leaps,  runs,  and  plays  more  vigorously  than  a  grilse.  The 
fish  is  gray  on  its  back  and  sides,  interspersed  with  white 
scales,  all  of  which  are  small,  but  brilliant.  Epicures  regard 
the  winninish  as  a  higher  luxury  than  either  the  brook  trout 
or  salmon.  Its  head  resembles  the  trout,  but  the  mouth  is 
larger,  and  equally  tough  for  holding  a  hook.  The  meat  is 
pink-colored.  It  takes  either  the  minnow  or  the  fly  gener- 
ously. Fish-culturists  might  with  advantage  turn  their  at- 
tention to  the  winninish  and  the  white  trout. 

Lake  Trout  of  Moosehead  Lake.— This  trout  is  unlike 
any  other  in  the  American  waters.  It  is  round  in  body,  and 
resembles  the  winninish  in  large  first  dorsal  and  large  tail. 
Its  meat  is  straw-colored,  and  on  each  side  below  the  gills  are 
five  or  six  dark  spots  the  size  of  peas,  and  like  those  on  the 
shad.  It  is  clad  in  small  scales,  dark  on  the  back,  orange 
sides,  and  belly  like  the  doree  or  common  river  pickerel.  Be- 
ing so  excellent  a  dinner-fish,  it  is  surprising  that  the  markets 
of  Maine  continue  to  monopolize  it  to  the  exclusion  of  epi- 
j  cures  in  other  states.  It  is  caught  by  the  hand-line,  as  other 
bke  trout. 

red  trout  of  long  lake. 

*'  I  see  the  bright  trout  springing 

Where  the  wave  is  dark,  yet  clear, 
And  a  myriad  flies  are  winging, 

As  if  to  tempt  him  near. 
With  the  lucid  waters  blending, 

The  willow  shade  yet  floats, 
From  beneath  whose  quiet  bending 

I  used  to  launch  my  boats. " 

This  is  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  specimen  of  lake 
trout  known  in  the  State  of  New  York.  In  outline  it  resem- 
bles the  brook  trout  which  have  access  to  marine  feeding- 
grounds,  except  in  the  tail,  which  is  forked.  In  color  it  is  a 
jddish-brown  on  the  back,  mellowing  to  a  pink  at  the  sides, 
tod  a  belly  of  white  with  pink  tinge.  The  whole  of  its  sur- 
)e,  except  its  head  and  belly,  is  thickly  dotted  with  orange 
jcks  about  the  size  of  pigeon-shot.     Like  the  trout  of  all 


262 


Fishing  in  American  Wateks„ 


the  lakes,  its  scales  are  so  small  as  to  be  scarcely  perceptible, 
but  its  body  is  marked  with  fine,  transverse  diagonal  lines, 
forming  diamonds  or  canvas  like  the  surface  of  fine  drilling 
or  marseilles.  This  is  an  unfailing  mark  of  peculiarity.  Its 
meat  is  pink-colored,  with  rich  layers  of  cream  between  its 
flakes. 


Eed  Trout  of  Long  Lakl. 

The  red  trout  will  rise  to  the  artificial  fly,  take  a  feathered 
spoon  or  well-dissembled  minnow.  Trolling  is  the  favorite 
mode  of  fishing  for  this  beauty,  whose  average  weight  is  from 
five  to  fifteen  pounds.  It  is  very  gamy,  displaying  much 
muscular  force  and  propulsive  power  in  its  runs  and  leaps. 
To  angle  for  the  red  trout  is  worth  a  voyage  to  the  Adiron- 
dacks  in  June  and  July.  It  is  fine  sport  to  use  salmon-tackle 
and  take  him  on  the  fly  until  fatigued,  when  the  exercise  may 
be  changed  to  trolling. 

There  is  a  universe  of  pent-up  luxuries  for  the  sportsman 
in  that  ninety-two  miles  square  known  as  the  Adirondacks, 
in  the  heart  of  the  State  of  New  York.  A  hundred  moun- 
tains shade  as  many  lakes,  which  teem  with  living  beauties 
too  rich  in  coloring  and  symmetrical  in  form  to  be  copied  by 
the  painter's  art.  All  the  American  varieties  of  the  Salmo 
genus  except  the  salar  are  found  in  these  lakes  and  their  trib- 
utaries, with  the  palpitations  of  busy  life  shut-  out,  and  naught 
but  a  simple  tenting  residence  on  aromatic  boughs  for  a  bed, 
where  the  timid  deer  comes  with  her  spotted  fawn  to  the 
margin  of  the  lake  to  drink,  and  hesitatingly  trusts  the  cross- 
paths  of  men.  The  eagles  soar  aloft  in  the  heavens  above 
the  blue  summits  of  cloud-capped  mountains  which  seem  to 
jostle  each  other.     Imagination  is  not  sufficiently  vivid  to 


The  Home  of  a  Sportsman.  263 

realize  the  sense  inspired  in  the  Adirondacks  by  a  sunrise 
scene.  The  owl  has  ceased  to  hoot,  the  whip-poor-will  to 
sing,  the  panther  to  scream,  and  the  wolves  to  howl ;  but  the 
sun  lights  up  each  bush  and  spray,  and  the  shadows  and 
mountains  form  majestic  basins.  Now  the  brook  trout  are 
busy,  and  the  day-birds  are  musical. 

Here,  in  these  narrow  lakes  of  pure  water,  fed  by  trout- 
brooks,  the  gentle  angler  takes  his  morning  walk,  where  the 
breaks  of  speckled  beauties  enliven  the  waters  with  hopeful 
expectancy,  and  naught  disturbs  the  tranquillity, -richness, 
and  grandeur  of  primeval  nature.  Here  the  poet,  painter,  or 
philosopher  may  inflate  the  soul  and  invigorate  the  body,  so 
that,  on  returning  to  the  busy  world,  he  may  be  the  better 
able  to  endure  its  chafings  and  contests  for  another  year. 

TEOFT  OP  SENECA  AND  CANANDAIGUA  LAKES. 

'  •  The  generous  gushing  of  the  springs, 

When  the  angler  goes  a-trolling ;  ^ 

The  stir  of  song  and  summer  ^vings, 
The  light  which  shines,  and  life  which  sings, 
Make  earth  replete  with  happy  things 
When  the  angler  goes  a-trolling." — Stood  art. 

This  fish  spawns  in  October  and  November,  or  when  other 
families  of  the  genus  Salmo  do  ;  is  white-mouthed  and  pinky- 
meated.  Its  qualities,  outlines,  and  superficial  marks  are  as 
varied  as  are  its  edible  qualities.  All  anglers  know  that 
these  depend  much  on  the  quality  of  water  they  inhabit  and 
the  food  they  eat.  In  the  latter  particular  they  resemble  all 
animals  and  fishes.  There  are  salmon-trout  in  nearly  every 
lake  within  the  State  of  New  York ;  but  the  fish  of  Seneca, 
Canandaigua,  Skaneateles,  and  Long  Lake  are  infinitely  supe- 
rior, both  as  game  and  for  the  table,  to  those  of  Lake  Onta- 
rio and  the  other  great  lakes. 

The  color  of  this  fish  is  a  drab,  with  pink  tinge  from  the 
>ack  two  thirds  down  each  side,  shaded  with  vermiculate 
larks,  and  covered  with  infinitesimal  scales,  like  the  com- 
lon  LAKE  trout.     The  fins  are  like  those  of  the  brook  trout. 


264  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

except  the  caudal,  which  is  forked.  The  head  resembles  the 
brook  trout's,  even  to  the  teeth.  By  some  persons  this  fish 
is  supposed  to  be  a  land-locked  salmon ;  but  it  is  a  distinct 
family  of  the  genus  Salmo,  though  in  principal  outward  marks 
of  characterization  it  resembles  the  salmon-trout  of  Ontario 
and  the  other  great  lakes,  differing  because  of  inhabiting  lim- 
pid spring  waters  with  better  food. 


Trout  of  Seneca  and  Cayuga  Lakes. — Salmo  conjinis. 

In  May,  after  the  waters  become  settled  and  clear,  these 
fish  are  taken  by  trolling  with  spinning-tackle  and  minnow 
bait.  It  is  necessary  to  sink  the  bait  near  the  bottom,  and, 
as  the  trout  remain  near  shore  until  June,  a  light  sinker  will 
be  sufiicient ;  but  when  the  weather  becomes  quite  warm 
they  resort  to  a  feeding-level  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet 
below  the  surface,  where  they  are  taken  by  trolling  with 
feathered  squids.  The  line  should  be  two  hundred  yards 
long,  of  the  size  used  for  catching  cod,  and  from  twelve  feet 
above  the  hook  to  twenty-five  feet  leads  an  eighth  of  an  inch 
thick  are  rolled  at  intervals  on  the  line,  sometimes  to  the 
weight  of  a  pound.  Row  slowly,  and  let  out  line  until  you 
get  a  bite,  and  then  calculate  the  depth  to  the  feeding-level, 
as  the  water  in  some  places  is  a  thousand  feet  deep. 

Baiting  the  buoy  and  fishing  with  a  drop-line  is  also  prac- 
ticed with  success,  though  none  of  these  methods  of  taking 
lake  trout  are  very  attractive  to  the  angler. 

THE    MACKINAW   TROFT. 

This  trout  is  the  largest  of  the  genus  in  American  waters, 
generally  running  from  two  to  five  feet  in  length,  and  weigh- 
ing from  fifteen  to  fifty  pounds,  though  Dr.  Mitchill  states 


A  Luxury  of  the  Noethwest. 


265 


that  it  sometimes  attains  to  the  weight  of  120  pounds.  It  is 
dark  colored  on  the  back,  sides,  dorsal  and  caudal  fins,  mel- 
Towing  off  from  the  lateral  lines  to  a  white  or  creamy  belly. 
Vermiculate  marks  cover  its  back  and  sides.  The  second 
dorsal,  like  that  of  all  the  Salmonidoe^  is  adipose.  Pectoral, 
ventral,  and  anal  fins  light  cream  color,  as  are  also  the  irides. 


Thk  Mackinaw  Tkout. — iSalmo  amethystus. — ^Mitchill. 

As  this  trout  inhabits  the  jdeep  pools  in  the  cold  lakes 
from  Huron  to  the  frigid  zone,  its  meat  is  firm,  and  the  fish 
is  highly  prized  by  epicures.  It  is  sometimes  taken  as  far 
south  as  the  Ohio  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  either  by  trolling  with 
a  minno^or  a  feathered  spoon,  or  with  cisco  and  young  lake 
herrings— all  captivating  lures.  There  are  many  taken  with 
gill-nets  and  set-lines  in  deep  water,  as  also  with  hand-lines, 
by  previously  sinking  a  large  stone  with  a  rope  attached,  and 
at  the  other  end  of  the  rope  fasten  a  buoy,  and  for  several 
days  cast  in  butchers'  offal  by  the  buoy  until  it  is  supposed 
the  fish  are  chummed  to  that  place  as  a  feeding-ground,  when 
— with  large  hook,  heavy  sinker,  and  codfish  line — the  fisher 
with  the  hand-line  takes  them  as  fast  as  he  can  bait  and  land 
them.  This  killing  method  is  a  favorite  one  with  many  men 
who  fish  for  lake  trout  to  sell,  but  it  is  very  unsportsman- 
jlike.  In  winter  it  is  taken  on  hooks  baited  with  pork  through 
holes  cut  in  the  ice  for  the  purpose.  The  best  places  to  an- 
;le  for  this  luxury,  either  with  the  troll  or  hand-line,  is  in 
iakes  Huron,  Superior,  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw  and  Green 
5ay ;  from  the  latter  water,  Chicago,  Galena,  and  many  towns 
the  interior  of  Wisconsin  are  supplied.  In  fishing  through 
le  ice,  when  a  fisherman  gets  a  bite,  he  throws  the  line  over 
is  shoulder  and  walks  away  from  the  hole,  drawing  the  fish 


266  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

rapidly  up  and  out  on  the  ice,  where  it  is  left  to  freeze.  Be- 
sides the  thousands  of  them  transported  every  winter  in  a 
frozen  state,  many  are  salted  and  shipped  off  in  the  spring. 
This  trout  is  the  most  voracious  of  all  the  species,  fattening 
on  such  delicate  luxuries  as  herrings,  ciscos,  and  whitefish. 

SECTION  ELEVENTH. 

AMERICAN  PICKEREL,  OR   PIKE. 

By  blue  lake  marge,  upon  whose  breast 
The  water-lilies  love  to  rest, 
Lurking  beneath  those  leaves  of  green 
The  fierce  pike  seeks  his  covert  screen, 
And  thence  with  sudden  plunge  and  leap, 
Swift  as  a  shaft  through  air  may  sweep, 
He  seizes,  rends,  and  bears  away 
To  hidden  lair  his  struggling  prey. 

This  fish,  like  the  brook  trout,  is  almost  universally  known. 
It  inhabits  nearly  all  the  waters  of  the  north  temperate  zone, 
and  varies  in  appearance  according  to  its  food,  and  the  vol- 
ume and  quality  of  the  water  in  which  it  is  found,  ^he  large 
pickerel  taken  in  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  in  many  Cana- 
dian waters  is  called  by  some  the  "  great  Northern  pike,"  of 
the  family  Esocidce,  supposed  to  be  unlike  the  common  pike 
or  pickerel,  or  Esox  Lucius ;  but  throughout  twenty  years' 
experience  at  taking  pickerel,  I  have  been  unable  to  discover 
a  very  marked  difference  between  the  Northern  pike  and  the 
pickerel  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 


American  Pickerel,  or  Pike. 

"  The  pike  is  the  English  name  of  a  fish  belonging  to  the 
order  Malacopterygii,  section  Abdominales,  family  Esocidse, 
and  genus  Esox." 

The  pickerel  or  pike  spawns  in  March  and  April,  and  should 
not  be  caught  between  January  and  July.     In  England  it 


One  of  the  American  Fishes. 


26', 


sometimes  attains  to  the  weight  of  sixty  pounds,  and  in  Nor- 
way it  occasionally  rises  to  a  hundred  pounds,  and  more  than 
eight  feet  in  length,  while  in  America  it  is  quite  rare  to  take 
one  of  more  than  twenty  pounds'  weight. 


OF   PICKEEEL,  AND   ANGLING   FOR  THEM. 

iSH  of  this  family  are  known 
in  the  United  States  by  the 
name  of  pickerel,  which  is  the 
name  in  England  for  a  dimin- 
utive pike.  All  pike,  after  ris- 
ing above  the  pickerel  weight, 
and  under  five  pounds,  in  En- 
gland, are  known  as  "  Jack," 
probably  named  after  a  poach- 
er by  the  name  of  Jack  Pike. 
In  the  waters  of  the  East- 
ern, Middle,  and  Western 
States,  as  also  throughout  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  the  pick- 
erel is  found  in  most  of  the  lakes,  ponds,  and  some  rivers ; 
especially  is  it  numerous  in  ponds  where  surface-water  pre- 
ponderates, and  by  reason  of  which  the  salmon  families  are 
excluded. 

The  meat  of  small  pickerel  is  mealy,  fresh,  and  without  de- 
cided flavor,  when — because  of  its  yellow  color — it  is  called 
doree ;  but  those  from  three  pounds  upward,  taken  in  pure 
water,  may  be  justly  considered  a  good  breakfast-fish.  The 
pickerel  of  Greenwood  Lake  are  good,  because  the  food  is 
abundant,  and  trout  rills  drop  into  the  lake  from  every  direc- 
tion. As  the  lake  is  only  60  miles  from  New  York,  I  used  to 
take  a  seat  in  an  evening  train  of  the  Erie  Railroad,  arriving 
in  Chester  at  7  P.M.,  and  drive  down  ten  miles  to  the  lake  in 
time  to  give  Jack — the  baitman — orders  to  have  all  things 
ready,  and  call  me  at  five  next  morning.  Tap-tap-tap  at  my 
amber  door  announced  that  it  was  five,  and  nothing  more. 


^nh: 


268  Fishing  m  American  Waters. 

Forthwith  I  mounted  my  toggery,  took  a  cracker,  and  fol- 
lowed Jack  to  the  boat,  where  all  things  were  in  readiness, 
and  he  sculled  me  out  to  a  raft  or  float  on  the  lake,  which  had 
been  anchored  at  one  of  the  best  feeding-places  for  the  long- 
noses.  Leaving  me  with  my  half  dozen  poles,  ten  feet  long 
each,  and  a  pail  of  live  minnows.  Jack  returned  to  the  shore. 

Among  the  numerous  methods  of  still-baiting  for  pickerel, 
that  from  an  anchored  float  is  the  most  quiet  and  easy.  As 
I  was  attaching  a  line  to  each  pole,  a  deer,  with  elegant  but 
timid  tread,  came  to  the  margin  of  the  lake  and  took  a  drink. 
It  was  September — a  month  for  excellent  venison;  but^then 
he  was  too  pretty  and  innocent-looking  to  kill,  and,  though 
within  short  range,  I  had  no  rifle  with  me.  The  god  of  day 
had  not  yet  appeared,  but  the  merry  songsters  made  the 
copse  and  fields  joyous.  To  each  stout  pole  I  tied  a  line, 
three  feet  longer  than  the  pole,  and  at  the  end  of  each  I  at- 
tached a  gimp-snelled  hook,  and  covered  the  connection  of 
line  and  snell  with  a  small  strip  of  sheet  lead.  The  water 
was  from  seven  to  nine  feet  deep,  and  for  a  float  I  tied  a  piece 
of  pine  shingle,  which  produced  no  resistance  to  a  bite,  but 
merely  kept  the  bait  a  foot  above  the  bottom.  The  shingle- 
float  was  ten  inches  long,  two  inches  wide  at  the  thin,  feath- 
ered end,  and  tapered  to  a  point,  being  half  an  inch  square  at 
the  end  where  I  made  the  notch  and  tied  the  line. 

In  still-baiting  for  pickerel,  if  the  fish  takes  the  bait,  and 
learns  that  it  is  anchored  or  not  at  liberty,  the  fish  at  once 
rejects  it ;  but  by  means  of  the  sharp-ended  float  no  percep- 
tible resistance  is  ofiered,  and  the  pickerel  swims  off  toward 
a  convenient  place  to  gorge  it.  There  were  places  arranged 
on  the  float  for  properly  setting  the  poles,  and  arm-chairs  at 
intervals  invited 'to  rest  between  bites.  By  the  time  I  had 
baited  Tny  sixth  hook  and  set  my  last  pole,  I  saw  the  shingle- 
float  to  one  of  my  lines  tip  up  a  trifle,  and  glide  along  the 
surface  of  the  water,  sinking  gradually  as  it  moved.  I  gave 
a  sudden  jerk  with  the  pole  to  an  opposite  direction  from 
that  which  the  float  was  moving,  and  thus  hooked  and  landed 


t 


How  TO  ENJOY  A  Bkeakfast.  269 

on  the  raft  a  four-pound  pickerel.  Before  I  had  baited  again, 
another  float  gave  signs  of  agitation,  and  I  landed  another. 
Jack,  who  had  observed  my  success,  now  sculled  alongside, 
and  took  the  two  pickerel  to  be  prepared  for  breakfast. 

I  continued  fishing  and  admiring  the  scenery,  with  the 
tops  of  the  mountains  just  beginning  to  be  illuminated  by 
the  rays  of  a  bright  sunrise,  and  the  pickerel  accepted  my  of- 
ferings most  voraciously,  so  that  I  was  in  the  midst  of  a  most 
successful  contest  when  the  horn  blew  for  breakfast.  After 
fastening  my  rods  securely  to  the  float,  and  seeing  that  each 
hook  was  well  baited,  I  sculled  ashore  for  breakfast. 

On  that  lovely  morning  the  sun  seemed  to  have  decked  all 
nature  in  holiday  costume.  After  a  refreshing  bath,  on  en- 
tering the  hall  leading  to  the  dining-room,  in  the  fragrant 
aroma  of  the  coffee  I  scented  a  welcome.  The  pickerel,  whicli 
had  been  first  broiled  or  singed  on  the  flesh  side  to  prevent 
the  juice  from  escaping,  was  turned,  and  with  a  renewal  of 
liickory-wood  coals  was  "  done  to  a  turn."  Fresh  butter,  red 
pepper,  and  a  dash  of  black  pepper  for  its  aroma,  prepared 
the  melting  delicacy  for  the  table.  The  smoke  of  the  viands, 
fish,  and  of  the  tureen  of  mashed  potatoes,  with  the  fragrant 
coffee,  greeted  the  senses  like  incense,  and  filled  the  measure 
of  my  hope  and  ambition. 

After  breakfast,  a  walk  on  tlie  veranda,  the  discussion  of 
a  cabana^  and  a  look  at  the  morning  papers,  which  had  al- 
ready been  received  from  the  city,  made  me  again  anxious  to 
try  the  metal  of  those  sly  and  peering  long-noses.  Adjourn- 
ing to  the  hotel  at  eleven  o'clock,  forty-four  pickerel  included 
my  mess,  and,  partaking  of  an  attractive  lunch,  I  returned  to 

1  ew  York  City  in  time  to  dine  at  seven  in  the  evenmg. 


270 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


SKITTERING*   FOR   PICKEREL   AMONG  THE   LILY-PADS. 

*'  Now  changed  the  tackle  and  the  bait ; 
For  larger  prey  we're  all  elate ; 
'Mong  lily-pads  none  vainly  tries ; 
The  line  runs  off — a  noble  prize ! 
Give  time  to  poach — now  strike ! 

"  Now  seeks  his  haunt  the  wounded  prey, 
And  then  begins  the  angler's  play ; 
He  lengthens  out,  now  slackens  line. 
Till  struggles  past — a  welcome  sign — 
He  lands  a  glorious  pike ! 

Chorus. — The  jolly  angler's  is  the  life, 

Devoid  of  care,  devoid  of  strife. " 

Angling  for  pickerel  among  the  lily-pads  and  pickerel-weed 
is  very  exciting  sport.  ^The  angler  should  use  a  rod  from  13 
to  15  feet  long,  flexible,  but  strong.  For  skittering  a  float 
is  not  used,  nor  is  natural  bait  the  best.  Use  Buel's  or 
M'Harg's  spoons,  mounted  with  red  ibis  feather,  and  white 

*  Skittering  is  a  word  which  belongs  to  an  angler's  vocabulary,  but  not 
found  in  a  dictionary.  It  means  drawing  or  jerking  a  bait  along  the  top  of 
the  water. 


I 


Quiet  Scenery  and  Active  Sport.  271 

feathers  or  hair  for  the  under  side  of  the  spoon.  Stand  near 
the  bow  of  your  punt,  and  skitter  the  lure  along  the  surface 
of  the  water,  near  the  margins  of  the  lily-pads,  and  if  you  are 
on  Sodus  Bay,  or  tempting  the  fish  from  almost  any  of  the 
bayous  of  Lake  Ontario,  you  will  find  cause  for  surprise  that 
will  force  you  to  ejaculate;  for  it  will  be  questionable  which 
will  be  the  most  astonished,  the  novice  in  the  boat  or  that  in 
the  water.  A  most  important  essential  is  to  have  a  man  at 
the  stern  who  can  use  the  setting-pole  and  sculls  so  as  to  en- 
able you  to  fish  the  border  of  the  lily-pads  without  scaring 
the  prey  into  their  hiding-places. 

Cuffy  says,  "Uf  we  had  de  gun,  we  might  git  a  mess  of 
weod-duck."  I  reply, "  Confound  wood-duck !  Don't  you  see 
that  the  large  pickerel  is  going  into  the  weeds,  and  that  I 
can  not  prevent  him  ?    Turn  the  punt  from  shore." 

In  skittering  for  pickerel  with  live  minnow,  the  shiner  is 
the  best.  Use  two  or  three  hooks  in  a  gang,  as  represented 
for  "  spinning-tackle."  Keep  your  bait  in  motion,  upon  the 
same  principle  that  you  would  fish  for  salmon  or  brook  trout. 
It  is  the  favorite  plan  of  angling  for  pickerel  in  New  England, 
and  is,  moreover,  essentially  modem,  and  afibrds  active  recre- 
ation. 

still-batting  for  pickerel. 

* '  The  angler  is  free 

From  the  cares  which  degree 
Finds  itself  \vith  so  often  tormented ; 

And  although  we  should  slay 

Each  a  hundred  a  day, 
'Tis  a  slaughter  needs  ne'er  be  repented." — Cotton. 

The  primitive  and  philosophical  method  of  angling  for  pick- 
erel is  with  an  ash  or  hickory  pole.  The  bait  is  a  live  frog. 
Of  course,  while  angling  in  this  way,  you  may  study  nature ; 
but,  lest  you  should  fathom  all  things  too  soon,  take  books 
with  you,  for  they  are  frequently  unfathomable.  Seek  a  place 
on  the  margin  of  a  solitary  pond,  shut  out  from  the  habita- 
tions of  men  by  a  dense  grove.     Seat  yourself  on  some  fallen 


272 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


STILL-BAITING  FOR  PICKEREL. 


tree  of  ancient  renown,  and  there  beside  you  place  your  books. 
Then  bait  your  hook,  and  cast  it  off  among  the  lily-pads  or 
stumps  which  margin  the  pond,  and  gaze  away  on  vacancy. 
There  is  naught  set  down  agajnst  smoking  at  such  a  place 
on  such  occasions.  Let  the  birds  bill  and  coo  in  the  grove 
behind  you,  and  if  your  mind  is  intent  on  developing  a  new 
theory,  let  your  bait  creep  up  on  a  stump  near  you,  to  the 


i 


The  contemplative  Philosophek. 


273 


envy  of  all  kingfishers  who  may  covet  it ;  and  let  it  partake 
of  your  afflatus  while  it  watches  your  movements,  to  be  pre- 
pared, in  case  you  suspect  a  bite,  lest  you  should  disconcert 
it  by  jerking.  If  you  do  not  take  a  mess  of  fish,  comprehend 
solitude.  It  has  its  charms,  of  course,  for  Robinson  Crusoe 
said  that  sages  had  seen  them.  Disregard  the  Frenchman's 
opinion  who  stated  that  the  solitude  which  has  charms  is  al- 
ways near  cities  or  large  towns.     Verbum  sat  sajnetiti. 

S 


lX„fe.—T\\c  laria  or  grnb  of  the  diafron-flj  lues  in  the  wau  i  .(  n  oi  t\\elve  monthp, 
purpuiiifr  there  its  prey,  until  the  time  for  its  metamorphosis  .urn es.  Then  it  cra\vls 
up  out  of  the  water  upon  the  stem  of  some  water-plant;  a  rent  soon  api)ears  upon  its 
shoulders,  from  Avhich  comes  forth  the  drapcm-fly.  The  "  coming  out"  of  this  winged 
tenant  of  the  air  may  be  observed,  arouud  our  ponds  and  marshes,  almost  any  day 
in  the  months  of  May  and  June.] 


274 


Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

•  TROLLING  AMONG  THE  THOUSAND  ISLANDS. 

Here  is  the  angler's  paradise, 

A  dreaming,  Eden-like  retreat, 
With  balmy  perfume  in  the  air, 

And  wild-flowers  springing  at  the  feet. 

All  the  charms  which  angling  for  pickerel  confer  are  sub- 
limated and  condensed  into  trolling  among  the  Thousand  Isl- 
ands. The  pickerel  of  the  thousand  lucent  streams  and  rap- 
ids, shaded  by  as  many  floral  islands,  are  much  better  flavor- 
ed than  are  those  which  dream  out  an  indolent  existence  while 
watching  for  frogs  among  the  lily-pads,  or  darting,  until  they 
wear  themselves  thin,  after  the  minnows  of  ponds  and  rivers. 

The  Thousand  Islands  extend  from  Cape  Vincent  to  a  few 
miles  below  Alexandria  Bay,  or  about  thirty  miles,  and  the 
average  width  of  river  is  about  five  miles.  Imagination  may 
better  picture  than  I  can  describe  the  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
of  trolling  and  casting  the  fly  on  streams  dividing  picturesque 
islands,  or  islets  covered  with  greensward  and  enlivened  by 


I 


The  Quiet  and  Beautiful.  275 

wild-flowers.  Some  of  these  isles  are  decked  w^ith  large 
clumps  of  copse  and  grove,  and  others  with  stately  trees 
which  reach  sublimely  heavenward.  This  charming  scene  is 
enlivened  by  the  wood-duck  and  other  birds  of  gay  plumage 
or  melodious  song.  I  venture  the  statement  that  it  is  une- 
qualed  any  where  on  earth  for  its  beauty,  variety,  and  life  of 
scenery.  Neither  the  water  streets  of  Venice  with  their  gon- 
dolas, nor  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  with  its  ornamental  drives 
and  picturesque  lakes  and  fountains,  are  at  all  comparable 
with  the  Thousand  Islands.  .  •,     .     . 

From  Cape  Vincent  to  within  a  few  miles  of  Og^ensburg 
there  is  fishing  and  shooting  enough  to  satisfy  all. the  epicu- 
rean lovers  of  field-sports  in  America,  did  they  but  know  a 
tithe  of  the  riches  of  land  and  water  which  their  excellent  fish 
and  game  offer  as  attractions. 

The  Thousand  Islands  forms  the  most  extensive  spawning- 
ground  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  great  chain  of  lakes ; 
there  are  numerous  eddies  and  shallow  sand-bars  amonsr 
these  islands  where  the  wall-eyed  pike  and  black  bass  spawn, 
but  the  fishermen  are  complaining  that  the  annual  diminu- 
tion in  catches  calls  loudly  for  a  law  of  reciprocal  protection 
between  the  Dominion  of  Canaela  and  the  United  States.  If 
the  myriads  of  lake  and  river  fishes  which  resort  to  the  Thou- 
sand Islands  to  spawn  were  allowed  to  breed — unmolested  by 
net  or  spear — an  annual  stock  of  pickerel,  black  bass,  glass- 
eyed  pike,  Oswego  bass,  and  fishes  of  smaller  varieties  would 
be  propagated  there  in  sufficient  numbers  to  stock  all  the 
American  waters. 

All  the  little  towns  along  the  Thousand  Islands  have  be- 
come attractive  summer  resorts.  It  was  here  that  Bishop 
Hughes  and  Dr.  Bethune  used  to  recuperate  body  and  brain, 
while  their  minds  were  soothed  by  the  picturesque  harmo- 
nies of  nature. 

On  visiting  the  Thousand  Islands  for  a  few  days'  recrea- 
tion, my  advice  is  to  go  in  pairs.  A  gentleman  companion 
will  answer,  but  a  lady  is  better.     Clayton,  which  is  a  town 


276  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

nearly  midway  of  the  islands,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
is  said  to  be  the  most  convenient  point  to  select  for  trolling ; 
for,  in  addition  to  the  best  grounds  being  near  there,  its  cen- 
tral location  enables  anglers  to  make  a  trip  up  or  down  the 
river  to  the  extremity  of  the  islands  and  to  return  the  same 
day.  The  hotels  along  the  Thousand  Islands  are  generally 
comfortable,  and  the  landlords  reliable.  Make  known  your 
wants  to  the  proprietor,  and  he  will  engage  a  man  and  boat 
for  you.  All  the  t rolling-boats  are  superior  in  model  for 
speed  and  comfort.  The  boatman  furnishes  rods,  lines,  baits, 
and  rows  his  own  boat.  I  prefer  to  use  my  own  tackle,  even 
to  spoons  and  feathered  squids.  Each  row-boat  is  furnished 
with  two  cushioned  arm-chairs,  in  which  yourself  and  lady 
are  seated  near  the  stern  and  facing  it.  The  bottom  of  the 
boat  is  carpeted,  and  crimson  is  the  favorite  color.  The  fish- 
ing-rods are  so  set,  by  appliances  in  the  boat  and  on  the  taff- 
rail,  that  the  troll  follows  outside  of  the  track,  as  the  rods  are 
held  at  right  angles  with  the  boat,  like  outriggers.  The  line 
is  from  fifteen  to  twenty  yards  long,  and  the  troller  lets  it 
run  from  the  reel  as  the  gaffer  rows  along.  The  trollers  soon 
become  so  enraptured  with  the  varied  beauties  of  the  shifting 
scenes  that  they  lose  the  consciousness  of  being  on  a  fishing 
excursion  until  the  oarsman  calls  loudly,  "  Bite  on  the  lady !" 
which  sufiiciently  disenchants  them  for  the  lady  to  reel  in  a 
pickerel  or  black  bass,  or  perchance  a  maskinonge ;  when 
"  Bite  on  the  gentleman !"  is  heard,  and  he  reels  in  a  fish  to 
the  gaff  or  landing-net. 

Parties  leave  the  hotels  in  couples,  agreeing  upon  a  rendez- 
vous for  lunching  on  some  island.  The  boatmen  take  bread, 
ice,  vegetables,  and  condiments,  and  couples  sally  forth  upon 
the  waters,  and  adjourn  at  the  appointed  time  in  the  midst 
of  groves  of  more  than  Oriental  beauty.  The  fish  are  cooked 
by  an  artist  on  an  extemporized  fireplace,  while  other  gaffers 
are  spreading  the  cloth  on  the  greensward,  where  the  repast 
is  served,  and  all  goes  on  enchantingly.  After  luncheon  they 
repair  to  their  boats,  when  they  continue  trolling,  or  cast  an- 


I 


Leader  of  the  Cl^vn.  277 

chor  on  the  shady  side  of  a  floral  islet,  in  a  narrow,  rapid  chan- 
nel, where  they  cast  the  flies  for  black  bass.  Thus  passes  the 
day,  on  waters  where  the  air  is  laden  with  perfume  from  wild 
roses  and  honeysuckles,  and  where  the  music  of  birds  chimes 
in  with  the  running  waters  as  the  troUers  alternate  between 
light  and  shade,  now  gliding  along  in  gorgeous  sunlight,  and 
anon  tracing  narrow  channels,  shaded  by  tall  forest  trees, 
where  wild  ducks  and  other  winged  game  are  rendered  al- 
most tame  by  the  contiguity  of  civilization  and  the  frequent 
sight  of  gay  and  jolly  fishing-parties. 

SECTION  SECOND. 

THE    MASKINONGI}. 

Where'er  Ontario's  waters  chafe 

The  rocky  bluffs  that  crown  its  shore, 
And  where  Canadian  banks  are  green, 

And  crystal  tributaries  pour, 
The  savage  maskinonge  doth  roam 

The  tyrant  of  the  wateiy  plain, 
No  rebel  to  dispute  his  claim, 

No  rival  in  his  great  domain. 

The  maskinonge  is  the  most  beautiful  specimen  of  the  pike 
family.  The  tribe  is  confined  to  the  range  of  large  lakes  and 
rivers  of  our  Northern  boundary,  and  to  most  of  the  lakes 
and  rivers  in  the  vast  northwestern  wilderness  extending  to 
the  frigid  zone.  The  Ojibwa  name  of  this  fish  is  "  maskanon- 
jil^''  meaning  "  long-snout."  When  Canada  was  a  French  col- 
.  ony,  the  "  habitans''*  named  it  masque-longue^  signifying  long 
visage.  I  submit  that  the  Ojibwa  was  entitled  by  priority  to 
the  right  of  naming  the  fish  ;  but  as  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
has  named  it  again,  and  in  all  legal  enactments  there  in  ref- 
erence to  it  the  name  of  the  fish  is  written  "  maskinonge,"  I 
willingly  accept  the  modification  instead  of  either  the  Indian 
or  the  French  name. 

Thus  much  in  explanation  of  naming  a  fish  which  has  puz- 
zled most  ichthyologists  and  anglers,  so  that  they  have  been 
uncertain  and  dubious  on  the  point.  The  name  is  Maski- 
nonge. 


278  Fishing  in  Amekican  Watees. 

Having  heard  many  anglers  state  that  they  coulcLnot  dis- 
tmguish  the  maskinonge  from  the  pickerel,  I  invite  tliem  to 
look  at  the  diversities.  The  mandibles  of  the  former  are 
longer,  the  tail  more  forked  and  larger,  the  dark  gray  back 
and  light  sides  are  dotted  in  black,  the  outline  of  the  fish  is 
more  delicate  and  elegant,  presenting  the  appearance  pf 
greater  refinement  and  higher  breeding  than  the  pickerel  or 
pike.  The  surface  differences  are  palpable,  but  they  ^re^  not 
so  marked  as  are  the  epicurean  qualities.  The  meat.^of  the 
maskinonge  is  compact,  white,  tender,  and  peculiarly  delicate 
and  rich  in  flavor,  without  partaking  of  any  .taint  of  extrane- 
ous substance  such  as  decayed  wood  and  bark,  which"  so  com- 
monly affect*  the  flavor  of  pickerel,  and  even  trout.  This 
proves  that  the  maskinonge  inhabits  springs;  and  when 
taken  in  lakes  where  surface-water  is  supposed  to  preponder- 
ate, is  always  found  at  points  where  the  fountains  gush  from 
the  bottom. 


The  MaskinoxNGe. 

Rice  Lake,  twelve  miles  north  of  Coburg,  in  Canada,  con- 
tains favorite  feeding-grounds  for  the  maskinonge.  Its  nu- 
merous springs,  its  beds  of  wild  rice  miles  in  length,  forming 
a  ground  shade,  its  row  of  islands  rising  high  above  the  level 
of  the  lake,  covered  with  dense  forests  of  lofty  trees  in  whose 
shade  the  fish  disport  near  the  fountains,  make  this  their  fa- 
vorite resort.  These  attractions,  and  the  rivers  which  feed 
the  lake  and  teem  with  shiners  and  other  tiny  baits,  render 
Rice  Lake  remarkable  for  containing  maskinonge  which  are 
equal  in  game  qualities  to  any  known  in  America ;  and  I  be- 
lieve the  fish  has  never  been  discovered  in  any  water  of  the 
eastern  hemisphere. 

This  fish  often  attains  to  nearly  seven  feet  in  length,  and 


A  Study  and  a  LuxrEY.  279 

to  tfte  -^eight  of  from  sixty  to  seventy  pounds  in  the  upper 
lakes,  as  well  as  in.  Ontario  and  the  River  St.  Lawrence.  But 
when  so  large  they  are  less  active  than  when  from  ten  to 
thirty  pounds  in  weight,  as  in  Rice  Lake,  and  the  River  Oitan- 
ab^je,  which  enters  Rice  Lake  opposite  and  about  four  miles 
frbm  Gore's  Landing.  The  greatest  number  that  I  ever  took 
in  one  day  on  this  lake  and  river  was  sixteen,  and  as  I  took 
them  legitimately — with  rod  and  reel — the  gentlemen  at  Har- 
ris's Hotel  decided  that  I  had  won  the  spurs,  and  invited  me 
to  their  club.  I  there  learned  that  it  was  the  greatest  num- 
ber ever  taken  fvom  the  lake  in  one  day  with  a  single  rod  and 
reel ;  and  as  the  club  was  chiefly  composed  of  retired  officers 
of  the  English  anny  and  navy,  with  a  sprinkling  of  civilians 
who  own  charming  boxes  on  the  margin  of  this  beautiful 
lake  of  thirty  miles  in  length,  I  regarded  the  compliment  as 
a  very  flattering  one. 

Maskinonge  are  taken  on  a  troll  like  either  of  those  repre- 
sented on  another  page,  under  the  title  of  "Spoon  Victuals  for 
Long-snouts."  -  ■      - 

Instructions. — Troll  with  a  striped  bass  rod  about  ten  feet 
long,  and  on  a  reel  which  will  carry  six  hundred  feet  of  fine 
bass  line  place  three  hundred  feet  of  the  largest  linen  reel 
line.  To  the  end  of  this  line  attach  your  feathered  squid. 
In  trolling,  let  your  squid  be  about  sixty  feet  behind  the  boat. 
The  oarsman  will  regulate  the  speed.  Then  the  first  saluta- 
tion that  you  will  probably  receive  will  be  a  shoek-ing  jerk, 
and  you  will  see  at  the  end  of  your  line,  and  about  six  feet 
above  the  water,  a  maskinonge  suspended  like  Mohammed's 
coffin,  only  shaking  the  squid -so  that  it  jingles.  In  that  case, 
don't  get  excited,  for  it  is  the  last  time  probably  that  day 
that  you  will  see  him.  Row  on ;  do  not  turn  to  go  over  the 
ground  to  retrieve  your  loss,  but  be  ready  for  a  new  adven- 
ture. After  he  hooks  himself,  do  not  play  him  with  too  stiff 
a  line,  nor  yet  slack  enough  to  let  him  get  a  bight  in  it.  Tire 
him  out,  and  bring  him  gently  to  gaff,  and  see  that  your  gaff 
be  the  best  of  the  striped  bass  pattern.     Keep  away  from 


1^80  Fishing  m  Amekican  Waters. 

him  after  your  oarsman  lands  him  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat, 

where  he  always  keeps  a  mallet  or  billet  of  hickory  wood  to 

pound  the  fish  on  the  head  and  prevent  him  from  leaping 

out  of  the  boat,  for  his  saltatory  powers  surpass  those  of  the 

salmon.     It  is  said  that  a  trout  will  rise  a  fall  six  feet  high, 

a  salmon  one  of  eleven  feet  perpendicular,  and  a  maskinonge 

one  of  nearly  thirty  feet. 

Far  where  Lake  Erie's  billows  glance, 
An  ocean-like  immense  expanse, 
The  shai-p-teeth'd  maskinonge  abides, 
The  shark  of  the  fresh-water  tides. 
Now  in  the  dark  abyss  of  waves 
He  glides  ;  now  where  the  shallow  laves 
The  grassy  shore,  and  crisp  waves  break 
O'er  the  white  sands  that  gird  the  lake. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

THE     BLACK     BASS. 

Amid  the  Thousand  Isles  that  gem 

St.  Lawrence  like  a  diadem, 

Where  winds  are  soft,  and  waves  are  calm, 

And  pine-woods  steep  the  air  with  balm, 

Piscator  floats  the  calm  abyss 

'Mid  scenes  of  most  transcendent  bliss  ; 

Wafted  across  that  teeming  flood. 

His  heart  o'erflows  with  gratitude. 

Many  anglers  think  the  black  bass  next  to  the  salmon  for 
game.  It  is  unquestionably  high  game.  Being  numerous  in 
many  waters  of  the  Northern  States,  it  has  come  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  commercial  fish,  and,  through  ignorance,  many 
confound  it  with  the  Oswego  bass,  which  is  quite  an  inferior 
fish  as  to  game  and  for  the  table.  Some  persons  have  ex- 
ported the  black  bass  both  to  England  and  France  with  the 
view  of  propagation ;  but  w^hether  they  were  the  real  black 
bass  is  questionable,  as  they  are  difficult  to  export  after  they 
grow  to  be  larger  than  fingerlings. 

The  black  bass  is  supposed  to  belong  to  the  perch  family, 
or  rather  order  of  fishes,  because  its  mouth,  gills,  fins,  and 
scales  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Fercidce  y  but,  in  order  to 


More  Gamy  than  Beautiful.  281 

distinguish  it  from  other  fishes  of  similar  color  and  apparent 
organization,  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  real  black 
bass  has  a  red  speck  in  each  eye  like  a  dot  of  carmine.  It  is 
also  more  delicate  in  outline,  and  has  a  smaller  head  than  the 
Oswego  and  the  Southern  bass.  The  black  bass  spawns  in 
the  spring,  and,  like  most  fishes  which  spawn  in  that  season, 
is  not  supplied  with  a  sac  of  nutriment  attached  to  the  um- 
bilical cord.  • 

The  activity  and  muscular  power  of  the  black  bass  are  suf- 
ficient to  enable  it  to  hold  its  own  and  increase  its  numbers 
in  waters  inhabited  by  the  most  ferocious  fresh-water  fishes, 
such  as  the  maskinonge,  glass-eyed  pike,  and  the  pickerel  or 
pike  of  the  great  lakes. 


The  Black  Bass. — Centrarchus  fasciatus. — De  Kay. 

With  a  view  to  giving  the  angler  a  list  of  the.  principal 
fishes  in  the  fresh  waters  of  the  State  of  New  York,  I  append 
the  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  an  old,  intelli- 
gent, and  successful  angler,  who  has  resided  in  the  central 
part  of  the  state,  and  fished  for  the  most  gamy  part  of  the  list 
of  which  he  writes  for  more  than  thirty  years.  His  theory 
of  the  black  bass  hibernating  in  clefts  of  rocks  is  corrobora- 
ted by  other  authorities,  and  is  doubtless  true.  But  to  the 
extract.* 

*  "  In  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  Ontario  Lake,  Seneca  River,  Oneida 
and  Cayuga  Lakes,  there  are  found  the  Oswego  and  black  bass,  very  similar 
in  their  shape  and  in  some  of  their  habits,  so  much  so  that  they  are  often 
mistaken  for  one  and  the  same  species.  The  Oswego  (sometimes  known  as 
the  '  river  bass')  is  the  heavier  fish,  often  attaining  to  eight  pounds'  weight ; 
are  taken  at  all  times  during  the  year,  often  in  winter  through  the  ice.  They 
are  good  biters,  and  are  game  to  the  last. 


^2  Fishing  in  Aj^iekican  Waters. 


THE    OSWEGO   BASS. 

This  fish  is  similar  to  the  black  bass  in  all  outward  marks, 
except  that  it  has  a  larger  head,  lacks  the  double  curve  at 

"  The  black  bass  seldom  attain  to  more  than  four  and  a  half  pounds,*  I 
have  taken  hundreds,  and  have  never  seen  one  weighing  more.  They  ai-e 
distinguished  from  the  Oswego  bass  by  a  faculty  of  changing  color  in  and  out 
of  water  —  sometimes  yellow,  or  yellow^  with  dark  bands  across,  and  often 
black  as  ink.  All  these  changes  I  have  seen  in  the  same  individual  after 
landing  him  ;  and  they  invariably  emit  a  disagreeable  musky  odor.  I  have 
never  known  them  to  be  taken  in  winter,  and  I  think  they  seek  a  particular 
location  and  remain  torpid  during  winter.  My  attention  was  directed  to  this 
fact  about  thirty  years  since.  At  that  time  I  was  in  the  habit  of  spearing 
fish  in  a  mill-dam  on  the  outlet  of  the  Seneca  Lake,  at  Waterloo,  in  Seneca 
County.  From  April  to  November  I  found  numbers  of  bass  ;  from  Decem- 
ber to  March  I  found  all  other  varieties,  but  no  bass. 

"In  the  winter  of  1837  the  water  was  shut  off  at  the  lake  for  the  purpose 
of  deepening  the  channel  to  improve  the  navigation.  This  was  considered  a 
favorable  time  to  quarry  the  limestone  in  the  bed  of  the  river ;  and,  upon  re- 
moving the  loose  rock  in  the  above-named  mill-dam,  where  the  ledges  crop- 
ped out,  there  were  found  hundreds  of  bass  imbedded  in  their  slime,  and  pos- 
itively packed  together  in  the  crevices  and  fissures  of  the  rocks.  My  subse- 
quent experience  has  done  much  to  convince  me  that  my  theory  is  correct. 
The  black  bass  appear  in  the  waters  of  the  Cayuga  Lake  in  April.  They  make 
their  beds  and  spawn  between  May  10th  and  June  20th,  and  disappear  in  No- 
vember. The  trolling  commences  in  the  early  part  of  May,  and  continues 
until  July  1  st,  after  which  time  we  find  great  annoyance  from  the  weeds. 

"In  the  Seneca  and  Canandaigua  Lakes  the  bass  make  their  appearance 
at  a  later  date — usually  about  the  middle  of  May — and  spawn  between  June 
10th  and  July  25 th.  This  is  the  best  time  to  take  them.  They  locate  in 
great  numbers  upon  shoals  and  bars  where  there  are  large  boulders.  The 
Seneca  Lake,  unlike  other  lakes  in  this  region,  is  very  deep.  It  has  a  clean 
beach  and  bottom  ;  no  weeds  or  grass  except  in  the  little  coves  and  bays.  In 
these  places  we  find  small  patches  of  grass  filled  with  all  sorts  of  small  fiy, 
and  it  is  about  these  grass  patches  that  we  have  the  finest  sport  in  August 
and  the  fore  part  of  September.  By  the  1  st  of  October  the  bass  have  disap- 
peared from  their  usual  haunts,  and  the  next  we  hear  from  them  is  at  tlie 
'Bass  Grounds,'  near  Big  Stream,  where  they  congregate  in  immense  num- 
bers about  the  middle  of  October.  The  manner  of  fishing  is  with  the  hand- 
line  and  rod  and  line,  using  crawfish  and  minnows  for  bait,  -Hundreds  are 
taken  in  a  day  in  this  place.  This  sport  continues  until  the  middle  of  No- 
vember, when  it  ceases.  The  appearance  of  the  bass  in  this  locality  I  con- 
sider as  another  fact  in  corroboration  of  my  theory.  The  shore  is  a  bold, 
rocky  cliff,  and  the  water  very  deep. 


The  black  bass  of  the  great  chain  of  lakes  range  from  three  to  nine  pounds,— G,  C.  S. 


Habits  of  the  Black  Bass.  283 

the  end  of  the  lateral  line  at  the  joining  of  the  tail,  and  has 
no  red  in  the  eye.  Its  flaky  meat  is  soft  and  watery,  and  its 
common  weight  is  from  five  to  ten  pounds. 

Like  the  black  bass,  this  fish  is  taken  by  casting  the  arti- 
ficial fly,  or  by  trolling  with  the  feathered  spoon,  with  a  min- 
now impaled  on  a  gang  of  hooks,  and  forming  spinning  tackle. 

This  fish  inhabits  most  of  the  lakes  in  the  interior  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  the  waters  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and 

"The  lakes  which  are  tributary  to  the  Seneca  River  are  not  all  supplied 
alike  with  fish.  The  waters  are  very  different.  The  Cayuga  Lake  from  Au- 
rora to  the  head  is  veiy  similar  to  the  Seneca  Lake,  and  is  stocked  with  the 
following  varieties,  to  wit :  Lake  trout,  white  fish,  herring-salmon,  pike  and 
pike-perch,  black  and  rock  bass,  perch,  suckers,  eels,  etc.,  etc. ;  while  the  low- 
er end  of  the  lake,  very  shoal  and  weedy,  tefminating  in  a  marsh,  is  supplied 
with  large  catfish,  small  ditto,  maskinonge,  rock  bass,  pickerel,  Oswego  bass, 
black  bass,  pike-perch,  perch,  etc.,  etc. 

"The  Oneida  Lake  abounds  in  all  the  above-named  varieties  excepting 
the  trout,  whitefish,  and  herring-salmon. 

"The  Skaneateles  and  Owasco  Lakes  have  very  few,  but  excellent  vane- 
ties,  to  wit :  Lake  trout,  brook  trout,  yellow  perch,  and  suckers.  The  water 
cold  and  spring-like. 

"The  Seneca  and  Canandaigua  Lakes  are  supplied  with  lake  trout,  white- 
fish,  herring-salmon,  pike-perch,  black  and  rock  bass,  yellow  perch,  catfish, 
and  eels. 

"The  Crooked  Lake  has  fewer  varieties.  We  find  the  lake  trout,  white- 
fish,  yellow  perch,  pickerel,  catfish,  and  eels.  About  forty  years  since  this 
lake  Avas  stocked  with  pickerel  from  the  head-waters  of  the  Susquehanna,  and 
they  are  now  very  abundant. 

"Our  finest  sport  consists  in  trolling  with  the  fly  and  minnow,  the  latter 
being  preferred.  In  the  Seneca  River,  at  Oswego,  the  fly  is  preferred.  Great 
numbers  are  taken  throughout  the  season.  Many  sportsmen  throw  three  or 
four  flies,  and  often  take  as  many  bass.  The  manner  in  which  this  is  done 
is  to  hook  one  fish,  and,  while  giving  him  the  necessary  play,  others  take  the 
extra  flies. 

"  A  word  in  regard  to  our  method  of  taking  the  lake  trout  and  pike-percli 
may  interest  your  readers.  We  use  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  cod-line, 
with  from  six  to  ten  leads — the  first  attached  to  the  line  about  fifty  feet  above 
the  hook,  the  others  at  intervals  of  from  eight  to  twelve'  feet — weighing  in 
the  aggi-egate  twelve  to  twenty  ounces,  regulated  to  suit  the  depth  of  water. 
Pike-perch  are  taken  at  twenty  to  forty  feet  deep ;  lake  trout  at  sixty  to  one 
hundred  feet  deep — always  at  the  bottom,  rowing  moderately.  We  use  the 
silver  spoon  or  spin  the  herring..  In  the  Canandaigua  Lake  the  minnow  is 
considered  tlie  best  bait.  In  the  Seneca  and  Crooked  Lakes  the  spoon  is  the 
most  successful. " 


284 


Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 


The  Oswego  Bass. 

those  of  many  of  the  Western  States  teem  with  it,  as  do  the 
chain  of  lakes  on  our  Northern  border,  and  the  rivers  and 
lakes  in  the  western  part  of  Canada,  and  most  of  the  waters 
of  the  Northwestern  wilderness.  In  some  places  it  is  known 
as  the  yellow  bass,  and  at  others  as  the  white  bass. 

BLACK  BASS  OF  THE  SOUTH. 

To  the  casual  observer  this  fish  very  nearly  resembles  the 
black  bass  of  the  North.  Its  habits  are  indeed  similar,  and 
so  are  its  fins  and  color ;  but  it  has  a  larger  head,  and  in  all 
points  excepting  contour  it  is  like  the  Oswego  bass.     The 


Black  Bass  of  the  South. 

rivers  in  Florida  are  alive  with  this  fish,  and  it  is  not  difficult 
to  take  several  hundred  j)ounds  of  them  in  one  day.  It  is 
taken  there  in  winter,  when  the  sport  may  be  varied  by  shoot- 
ing deer,  ducks,  wild  geese,  an  occasional  brown  bear,  and  an 
alligator,  and  all  from  the  same  trolling-punt. 


By  some  called  Strawbeeky.  285 


THE    SPOTTED   BASS    OR   SPECKLED    HEN. 

This  is  a  common  fish  in  the  fresh  waters  of  the  Western 
States ;  it  is  also  taken  in  the  waters  of  the  western  part  of 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  where  it  is  known  as  the  speckled 
hen.  This  is  one  of  the  numerous  small  pan-fishes  of  the 
Western  waters  which  naturalists  have  not  yet  classified.  It 
ranges  in  weight  from  a  quarter  of  a  pound  to  two  pounds,  is 
blackish-green  on  the  back,  greenish-yellow  on  the  sides,  with 
a  white  belly,  and  dotted  in  black  similar  to  some  of  the  dace 
genus  of  Western  streams.  It  is  an  excellent  breakfast-fish, 
either  rolled  in  flour  and  fried  in  butter,  or  in  sparkling  hot 
fat  of  salt  pork.  Sweet  or  olive  oil  is  the  best  juice  for  fry- 
ing fish  in,  but  seldom  used  in  America  for  the  purpose  ex- 
cept by  Israelites. 


The  Spotted  Bass  ok  Speckled  Hen. 
EOCK   BASS    OF  THE   LAKES. 

This  is  rather  better  game  than  the  "  speckled  hen,"  bites 
freely  at  a  feathered  squid  troll,  or  to  any  shiny  revolving 
spoon  bait ;  it  also  bites  at  the  apple-worm,  white  grub,  grass- 
hopper, or  shiner.  This  may  also  be  said  of  the  speckled  hen. 
The  Buel  feathered  spoon  of  smallest  size  and  brightest  feath- 
ers is  a  captivating  lure  for  both  the  spotted  bass  and  the 
rock  bass.  This  fish  inhabits  all  the  lakes  in  the  centre  of 
the  state,  and  is  regarded  as  an  excellent  pan-fish.  It  is  green 
on  the  back,  orange  at  the  sides,  and  cream-color  on  the  abdo- 
men ;  the  mottled  spots  are  black  and  green.     This  is  emi- 


^6  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Watees. 


Rock  Bass  of  the  Lakes. 

nently  a  lake  fish,  where  it  is  found  in  greatest  numbers  over 
the  shallows  near  the  shores,  and  contiguous  to  the  entrance 
of  spring  streams.  It  ranges  in  weight  from  a  quarter  to  a 
pound. 

SECTION  FOURTH. 

THE    SUNFISH. 

This  little  fish  inhabits  nearly  all  the  lakes,  rivers,  and 
ponds  in  the  United  States.  Its  habits  are  very  domestic, 
seldom  leaving  its  spawning-ground  out  of  its  sight,  but  seeks 
some  rock  or  large  stone  where  it  plays  about ;  and  the  re- 
mainders of  shoals  of  a  single  j)air  maybe  seen  disporting  to- 
gether, gay  and  lively,  while  watching  the  bottom  for  such 
ground-bait  as  angle-worms,  and  the  surface  for  flies  and 
grasshoppers.  This  tiny  gormandizer  is  a  great  annoyance 
to  fishers  with  the  fly  or  worm  when  it  becomes  numerous  in 
a  trout-pond,  for  it  will  take  both  the  worm  and  the  fly ;  and, 
besides,  it  will  steal  the  trout-eggs  from  the  spawning-beds. 
But  it  aflbrds  ladies  and  children  much  sjDort,  and  is,  withal, 
an  excellent  pan-fish  ;  and  as  it  aflbrds  good  sport  for  school- 
boys, it  should  be  tolerated.  It  never  attains  to  more  than 
half  a  pound  weight ;  but  the  buffalo,  a  Western  fish,  whicli 
is  similar  to  the  spotted  bass,  is  sometimes  mistaken  for  this 
fish,  and  in  some  waters  ranges  from  half  a  poimd  to  nearly 
five  pounds.  The  sunfish  is  dark  greenish -brown  on  the 
back,  greenish-yellow  on  the  sides,  lower  end  of  gill  tipped 


Greedy  Small-fey. 


28^ 


in;    hUNFISH. 


with  red,  and  the  belly  orange  and  gold.     It  is  to  be  fished 
for  with  perch  tackle  and  very  small  hooks.  f 

THE    PEECH. 

This  fish  is  the  head  of  the  families  of  the  Perddce  or  Per- 
co'ldes  of  Cuvier.  The  j^reoperculum  is  denticulated,  the  oper- 
culum is  produced  behind  into  a  flattened  spine,  the  infra- 
orbitals are  obscurely  denticulated,  and  the  tongue  is  smooth. 
This  is  tlie  common  fresh-water  perch — the  Perca  proper.  It 
is  so  common  in  American  waters  that  a  description  is  scarce- 
ly necessary.  It  is  a  very  voracious  fish,  will  bite  to  the  ar- 
tificial fly,  and  the  red  ibis  is  its  weakness,  while  it  seems 
equally  well  pleased  with  any  bait  which  the  angler  may 
adopt  or  change  to.  Its  weight  is  usually  about  half  a  pound, 
though  three-pounders  are  not  uncommon,  while  it  sometimes 
scales  as  high  as  seven  pounds,  but  rarely  except  in  the  large 
lakes. 


The  Perch.— Pc 


'^88  Fishing  in  Amekican  Waters. 

In  EurojDe  it  is  found  desirable  to  cultivate  this  fish,  as  it 
is  very  prolific  and  an  excellent  pan-fish ;  but  in  America, 
where  it  is  no  trick  to  take  half  a  bushel  a  day  on  the  ponds 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  city  of  New  York,  it  is  not 
deemed  worth  while  to  encourage  its  propagation.  Indeed, 
so  great  a  scourge  is  it  regarded  on  Long  Island,  that  poach- 
ers having  a  grudge  against  an  owner  of  a  trout-pond  go  in 
the  night-time  and  stock  it  with  perch. 

Of  the  fishes  belonging  to  this  order  there  are  over  twenty 
families,  including  the  numerous  kinds  of  bass,  and  nearly  all 
of  those  fishes  of  fresh  waters  with  the  first  dorsal  sj)iked  or 
spinous  rayed.  Of  these  families  there  is  scarcely  a  fresh- 
water river  or  lake  on  earth  which  does  not  contain  a  repre- 
sentative. 

The  ovarium  of  a  perch  is  one  fourth  the  weight  of  the 
fish;  and  a  pound  perch  has  been  known  to  contain  992,000 
eggs. 

THE    GLASS-EYED   OR  WALL-EYED   PIKE. 

This  is  one  of  the  fishes  of  the  Middle  and  Northern  States. 
At  the  Southwest  it  is  called  wall-eyed,  while  at  the  North  it 
is  known  as  the  glass-eyed  pike,  and  by  other  local  and  un- 
important names,  such  as  the  pike-perch,  sand-pike,  etc.  But 
its  eyes  being  the  most  distinctive  mark,  it  is  more  generally 
known  by  the  names  given  at  the  heading  than  by  any  other. 
It  sometimes  attains  to  a  very  great  weight.  Doctor  Buel 
took  one  in  the  Kentucky  River  which  weighed  nearly  fifty 
pounds. 

They  are  found  in  all  the  tributaries  of  the  Ohio  River,  in 
the  range  of  great  lakes,  and  most  of  the  rivers  and  lakes  as 
far  east  as  New  York,  south  as  far  as  Tennessee,  and  west  as 
far  as  Wisconsin.  They  also  inhabit  many  of  the  waters  in 
the  western  part  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  In  Cayuga, 
Seneca,  and  other  lakes  of  the  western  part  of  New  York  they 
are  often  taken,  sometimes  weighing  as  high  as  forty  pounds. 
In  Oneida  Lake  they  are  numerous ;  in  fact,  the  glass-eyed 


Various  in  Shai>e  and  Colors.  ^^^9 

pike  is  one  of  the  most  important  commercial  fishes  of  the 
lakes. 


^m 


The  Glass-eyed  or  Wall-eyed  Pike. 

The  glass-eyed  pike  of  the  rivers  in  New  York  is  very  sat- 
isfying game  to  the  angler.  He  prefers  the  live  shiner  as  a 
bait,  and  is  generally  found  at  the  foot  of  a  rapid,  watching 
for  any  lame  or  disconcerted  fish  which  appears  not  to  know 
how  to  take  care  of  itself.  The  best  way  to  angle  for  them, 
therefore,  is  to  anchor  your  boat  at  the  side  or  above  a  rapid ; 
use  shiner  bait,  and  cast  to  the  foot  of  the  rapid,  or  let  your 
bait  run  down  the  rapid,  for  they  sometimes  lie  behind  huge 
rocks  in  the  rapid.  Use  regular  striped-bass  tackle  and  fish 
with  a  float.  The  pike  of  the  Mohawk  River  are  supposed  to 
be  the  best  for  the  table.  The  meat  is  hard,  and  laminates 
in  rich  flakes,  possessing  a  peculiar  flavor  most  tempting  as  a 
breakfast  dish.  Those  fish  which  run*  from  three  to  nine 
pounds  are  the  best  for  the  table ;  but  they  have  been  taken 
at  the  Little  Falls  .to  the  weight  of  nearly  twenty  pounds, 
and  proved  to  be  a  superior  fish  for  stufling  and  baking. 

The  scales  of  the  glass-eyed  pike  are  hard,  close,  and  diffi- 
cult to  detach.  The  mandibles  are  wider  and  the  jaws 
stronger  than  those  of  the  pike  or  pickerel,  while  its  teeth  are 
shorter  and  closer  set.  It  is  dark  gray,  with  greenish  tint  on 
the  back,  gray  sides  with  yellowish  tinge,  and  white  abdo- 
men. The  numerous  shoals  of  this  fish  in  American  waters 
renders  it  common  and  unappreciated,  but  it  is  really  one  of 
the  best  table-fishes  of  the  rivers. 

There  is  another  family  of  glass-eyed  pike,  known  in  Ohio 
and  Western  Virginia  as  the  salmon.     It  resembles  the  pike 

T 


or) 


Fishing  in  Aiviericak  Water:; 


of  the  Mohawk  by  being  bluish-%lack  on  the  back,  bliiish-gray 
sides,  and  white  belly.  It  is  found  in  the  Kanawha  and  Mi- 
ami Rivers,  as  also  in  many  other  streams  of  Ohio. 

THE    WHITEFISH. 

This  sucker-mouthed,  succulent  delicacy  is  to  be  found  in 
most  of  the  small  lakes  in  the  middle  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  where  it  forages  near  the  springs  which  gush  from  the 
bottom,  so  that  its  meat  is  pure,  white,  juicy,  and  possessed 
of  a  most  delicate  flavor.  The  color  of  the  back  is  gray,  and 
the  rest  of  the  fish  a  clear  white  of  most  lustrous  sheen.  The 
great  lakes  from  Ontario  to  Superior  produce  millions  annu- 
ally, and  it  is  supposed  the  fish  near  the  north  shores  are  su- 
perior to  those  on  the  south  side  of  the  lakes,  because  a  great- 
er number  of  cold  spring  streams  debouch  in  the  lakes  on  the 
north  side.  The  whitefish  is  leather-mouthed,  and  sometimes 
takes  the  spoon  or  spinning  bait.  In  weight  it  runs  from 
three  to  nine  pounds,  and  there  is  less  waste  in  it  than  in  any 
other  fish  of  its  size.  The  engraving  is  a  copy  sketched  from 
still  life  by  Walter  Bracket,  Esq.,  a  Boston  artist  of  merit. 


The  Whitefish. — Corregomis  alosa  or  albus. 

It  is  eminently  an  economical  fish,  requiring  no  butter  to 
fry  it ;  but,  of  course,  those  persons  who  unite  a  little  knowl- 
edge  of  hygiene  with  gastronomy  never  fry  any  but  the 


Another  breakfast  Delicacy.  291 

smallest  kinds  of  pan-fishes.  This  is  a  broiler  as  truly  as  is  a 
shad  or  a  Spanish  mackerel. 

Though  an  abdominal,  it  does  not  belong  to  the  germs  l^al- 
mo  any  more  than  does  the  smelt,  which  some  ichthyologists 
classify  with  that  genus^  though  the  smelt  spawns  in  spring, 
and  the  whitefish  late  in  summer  or  early  in  autumn. 

Whitefish  are  taken  with  nets  and  placed  in  fish-pounds  in 
the  fall,  confined  by  water-fencing  with  nets  or  stone,  whence 
they  are  taken  with  large  scap-nets  and  sent  to  market.  The 
new  process  of  dry-freezing  is  being  resorted  to  at  the  West, 
so  as  to  enable  the  netters  to  take  them  in  the  season  when 
they  are  best  for  the  table,  and  preserve  them  in  a  certain 
stage  of  refrigeration  until  it  is  thought  desirable  to  market 
them.  This  is  the  preferable  method,  because,  when  confined 
in  pounds,  closely  packed,  many  of  them  get  frozen,  being 
thus  rendered  unmarketable  by  reason  of  their  slow  death. 
In  the  winter  of  1868  there  were  500  lost  from  one  pound 
near  Detroit  by  freezing.  The  pound  system  should  be  abol- 
ished by  law. 

'•Tlie  fisher  stakes  his  net  and  weir 
The  persecuted  shoals  to  snare ; 
The  seiner  runs  his  seines  around, 
Where'er  their  shining  scales  abound  ; 
Then,  di-agging  to  the  neighboring  shore. 
The  white  sands  strew  with  ample  store ; 
Yet,  spite  of  foe,  and  net,  and  seine. 
Unnumbered  mjriads  yet  remain." — Isaac  M'Lellax. 

THE    LAKE    HERRING. 

The  herring  belongs  to  the  Clupeidce  family  of  fishes,  and 
is  the  fifth  and  last  division  of  the  '"'' Malacopterygiens  ahdomi- 
naux^''  being  the  supposed  link  between  the  Gadidce  and  the 
Salmonidm,  vrithoMt  second' dorsal  or  adipose. fin.  The  lake 
herring  is  quite  similar  to  that  of  the  salt  waters,  subsisting 
chiefly  on  animalculae.  Its  back  is  dark  gray  with  a  greenish 
tinge,  white  sides  and  abdomen,  and  covered  with  large  sil- 
very scales.  It  is  from  nine  to  twelve  inches  in  length,  and, 
When  fresh  is  a  good  broiler;  but  the  world  knows  that  it  is 


292  Fishing  m  American  Waters. 


The  Lake  Herring. — Clupea  harengus. 

cured  every  possible  way  with  salt  and  smoke,  from  the  deli- 
cate bloater  to  the  shriveled,  smoky-brown  substance  of  a 
smoked  herring-box.  Nevertheless,  it  has  been  truly  stated 
that  "  the  ancients  placed  among  their  gods  many  a  worse 
creature  than  a  red  herring."  It  is  a  great  fish  of  commerce, 
and  one  of  the  indispensables  to  the  poor  in  many  parts  of  the 
world.  Thus  far,  although  the  lakes  of  the  United  States 
swarm  with  a  fresh-water  herring  which  is  not  inferior  to  the 
best  British,  yet  it  has  hitherto  claimed  little  attention  as  a 
fish  for  exportation ;  but  the  demand  for  it  is  becoming  an- 
nually greater,  and  the  fishermen  of  the  Western  lakes  are 
now  beginning  to  study  the  best  net  and  management  for 
its  capture.  The  drift-nets  will  probably  be  found  the  best, 
and  the  lake  herrings — which  are  more  delicate  than  those  of 
salt  water  —  will  soon  become  an  important  article  of  com- 
merce. 

THE   CISCO   OR   CISCOQUETTE. 

The  Cisco  is  a  small  white  fish  similar  to  the  lake  herring, 
but  difiering  from  it  by  the  addition  of  a  second  filmy  dorsal, 
and  in  its  meat  being  more  delicate,  and,  when  scaled,  trans- 
lucent as  a  smelt.  It  usually  measures  from  six  to  nine 
inches  in  length,  sometimes  twelve  inches,  but  rarely  longer. 
The  scales  are  white  as  polished  silver  except  on  the  back, 
which  is  greenish-gray  like  the  caplin. 

The  cisco  is  known  in  some  places,  eminently  by  fishermen 

and  fish-dealers  along  the  great  lakes,  as  the  ciscoquette,  and 

«s  just  beginning  to  be  regarded  as  a  commercial  fish,  great 

quantities  being  taken  with  the  whitefish  by  the  fishermen  of 


New  Sport  on  Westeen  Lakes.  293 

Huron  and  Superior.  A  letter  from  one  of  the  principal  Lake 
Erie  fishermen  contains  the  statement  that  they  entertain  high 
hopes  of  profitable  enterprises  in  this  modern  luxury.  The 
Cisco  is  found  in  all  the  lakes  belonging  to  the  great  chain 
bounding  the  United  States  on  the  north,  and  in  some  west- 
ern lakes  of  the  interior ;  but,  while  the  lake  herring — its  fre- 
quent companion — is  numerous  in  Seneca  and  Cayuga  Lakes, 
I  have  not  seen  a  cisco  there ;  but  the  large  shiner  of  Canan- 
daigua  Lake  may  be  the  cisco.  Both  the  cisco  and  herring 
are  favorite  baits  for  lake  trout,  and,  as  food  for  game  fishes, 
the  waters  should  be  kept  well  stocked  with  them. 


The  Cisco  or  Ciscoqdette. 

From  a  recent  letter  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Times  from  Camp 
Sterling,  on  Geneva  Lake,  Wis.,  it  appears  that  "ciscoing"  is 
the  principal  June  sport  for  man,  woman,  and  child  in  all  the 
area  formed  by  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  round  the  lake.  The 
cisco  may  be  taken  with  bait  or  fly,  though  the  latter  is  the 
most  natural  food,  as  its  small,  square  mouth  and  soft  teeth 
indicate  that  animalculoe  or  flies  are  its  natural  aliment.  At 
Geneva  Lake  there  is  a  fly  called  the  "  cisco-fly,"  which  ap- 
pears to  be  its  natural  food ;  it  is  nearly  an  inch  long,  of  gray- 
ish-brown body  and  light  gray  wings,  with  tail  and  antennce — 
probably  a  Phryganea.  The  eel-fly  is  also  said  to  be  a  favor- 
ite lure ;  but  the  cisco  and  cisco-fly  both  appear  in  great  num- 
bers at  the  same  time. 

The  cisco  is  said  to  be  excellent  game  of  its  size,  an4  will 
rise  as  vigorously  as  a  brook  trout,  often  meeting  the  fly  be- 
fore it  touches  the  water.  They  should  be  fished  for  with  a 
single-handed  fly-rod,  like  the  trout ;  though  a  sixteen  feet 
perch-rod  is  recommended,  as  perch  and  small  black  bass  oc- 


2M  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

cupy  the  same  feeding-grounds,  and  often  rise  to  the  fly  or 
take  the  bait.  The  cisco  of  the  great  lakes  resembles,  an  ale- 
wife,  and  sometimes  attains  the  weight  of  three  pomids. 

THE  shiner. 

This  tiny  white  fish,  with  scales  of  metallic  lustre,  is  from 
two  to  four  inches  long,  and  the  best  bait-fish  which  belongs 
to  the  fresh  waters  of  America,  where  it  is  found  in  most  of 
the  brooks,  rivers,  and  lakes  of  the  north  temperate  zone.  It 
is  a  greedy  biter,  and  with  a  bit  of  angle-worm  covering  the 
point  of  a  minnow'hook  it  is  taken  as  fast  as  it  can  be  drawn 
out  with  a  supple  willow  wand.  While  fishing  in  rivers  for 
black  bass,  I  have  moored  one  end  of  my  scull-boat  at  the 
shore,  and  sat  my  waiter  at  catching  shiners  at  the  shore-end 
of  the  boat,  while  I  took  black  bass  with  the  shiner-bait  at 
the  other  end. 


The  Shinek. 

As  a  pan-fish,  it  is  the  sweetest,  most  juicy,  and  delicate  of 
any  fish  except  the  golden  mullet ;  and  when  fried  to  a  crisp 
in  olive  oil  or  fresh  butter,  it  forms  a  mouthful  more  delicious 
than  any  other  pan-fish.  Many  epicures  in  country  places 
appreciate  the  delicious  shiner ;  but  as  it  is  too  insignificant 
in  size  to  form  an  object  of  commerce,  inhabitants  of  cities 
are  innocent  of  any  knowledge  of  this  succulent  luxury.  But 
it  is  as  a  bait-fish  that  I  would  recommend  the  shiner,  and  a 
bait-can  is  necessary  for  keeping  it  alive. 

SECTION  FIFTH. 
bait-can  and  baits. 
A  simple  tin  can  or  pail,  large  enough  to  contain  from  two 


Keeping  Alive  to  Take  Life.  295 

to  three  gallons  of  water,  with  the  lid 
perforated  to  let  air  into  the  bait,  is 
generally  sufficient ;  but  some  anglers 
prefer  a  double  pail,  the  inner  one  per- 
forated all  over  in  holes  the  size  of 
buckshot.  In  this  case  the  pails  are  of 
equal  size  at  the  top  and  bottom,  or 
cylindrical,  and  the  inner  pail  may  be 
taken  out  and  the  water  changed  be- 
fore returning  it,  without  the  danger  of  losing  bait.  Another 
plan  is  to  have  a  can  shaped  like  the  foregoing  cut,  and,  in- 
stead of  frequently  changing  the  water,  insert  a  siphon,  and 
draw  the  water  up  and  let  it  fall  back  into  the  can,  which 
aerates  the  water  and  revives  the  bait.  In  carrying  young 
trout  to  stock  streams,  the  cans  may  be  of  either  wood  or  tin, 
but  they' should  be  constructed  with  a  pump  to  aerate  the 
water.  Clean  swamp-moss,  and  a  small  piece  of  ice  in  moss, 
should  always  be  placed  in  the  water  for  c5nveying  live  fish 
several  miles  in  warm  weather. 

SPINNING   BAITS. 

Spinning  baits  for  trolling  on  all  fresh  waters  have  proved 
the  most  successful  for  nearly  all  the  game  fishes  which  in- 
habit them.  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that,  if  spinning  minnow 
squids  could  be  made  strong  enough  for  trolling  with  along 
our  coasts  and  in  our  estuaries,  all  the  surface-feeding  fish 
of  those  waters  might  be  taken  in  greater  numbers  than  they 
are  now  by  casting  menhaden  bait,  and  by  all  other  fish- 
ing appliances  except  the  set-nets  and  pounds,  which — as 
they  take  all  sizes  of  fishes — should  be  regulated  by  law,  es- 
pecially as  to  where  they  may  be  used,  and  under  what  con- 
ditions, etc.  Of  course,  the  rig  for  coast-trolling  would  re- 
quire to  be  made  very  strong ;  for  even  the  plain  bluefish 
squid  fastened  to  a  heavy  hawser-laid  line  is  often  parted  by 
the  jaws  of  bluefish,  Spanish  mackerel,  bonetta,  or  cero.  Even 
a  fifty  or  seventy-five  pound  striped  bass,  or  a  twenty  or  thir- 


296  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

ty  pound  bluefish,  would  make  the  line  hum  some.  But  how 
would  it  be  with  a  hundred  and  twenty  pound  bonetta  ?  i 
have  taken  large  striped  bass  by  trolling  for  them  on  the^  Se- 
connet  River  with  a  bone  squid  covered  with  white  linen,  out 
of  which  I  formed  the  tail.  The  squid  played  by  means  of  a 
brass  swivel.  All  swivels  should  be  of  brass  or  copper,  even 
if  silver-plated  afterward.  Steel  swivels  rust.  The  leathern 
satchel  for  carrying  hooks,  screw-driver,  pincers,  porpoise-oil, 
and  all  the  appliances  necessary  for  use  in  mending  rod,  reel, 
or  any.  part  of  tackle,  should  be  framed  with  brass.  Water- 
proof canvas  satchels  are  better  than  the  leathern,  and  in 
them  hooks  and  other  anglers'  implements  will  take  no  in- 
jury. Water-proof  canvas  is  also  preferable  to  leather  for 
gaiters,  and  for  boat-fishing  they  are  preferable  for  shoes.  I 
prefer  Russia  leather  boots  for  wear  when  trolling  off  the 
coast,  as  the  spinous  dorsal  and  pectoral  fins  of  sdhie  fishes 
are  sharp  and  strong  enough  to  pierce  any  kind  of  cloth. 

Foreigners  have  frequently  swindled  the  anglers  of  this 
country  by  attaching  hooks  of  inferior  quality  to  spinning 
baits;  but  the  domestic  competition  in  the  fishing-tackle 
business  has  become  so  strong  that  first-rate  tackle  of  all 
kinds  can  be  had  at  home ;  and  the  Buel  feathered  trolling- 
spoon,  and  those  of  M'Harg,  are  the  best  in  the  world  for 
taking  the  principal  fishes  of  our  lakes  and  rivers.  The  sam- 
ples which  I  submit  for  the  use  of  anglers  on  American  wa- 
ters are  supposed  to  be  the  best  in  use.  Those  just  referred 
to  I  know  are.  If  a  plain  spoon  is  used,  it  should  be  of  sil- 
ver outside  and  copper  on  the  concave  side. 

HACKETT's   spinning-tackle,  cork,  IRELAND. 

This  piece  of  spinning-tackle  was  noticed  in  the  London 
Field,  and  I  think  it  a  very  good  rig  for  trolling  with  a  live 
minnow  for  maskinonge,  glass-eyed  pike,  black  and  Oswego 
bass,  pickerel,  and  the  numerous  lake  and  river  fishes  which 
delight  in  spoon  victuals  or  captivating  artificial  lures. 

In  baiting,  put  the  large  hook  in  at  the  mouth,  and  run  the 


Disguises  all  the  Go.  297 


point  of  hook  along  the  side,  under  the  skin,  bringing  it  out 
opposite  the  d*orsal  fin ;  then  draw  up  the  fish  on  the  shank  of 
the  large  hook,  and  insert  the  small  hook  through  the  upper' 
and  lower  lips,  thus  closing  the  mouth ;  let  the  bait  settle 
back  so  as  to  draw  on  the  small  hook,  and  you  are  ready  for 
action.  The  hooks,  screw,  and  swivel  should  be  silver-plated. 
If  the  snells  are  o'f  gimp,  they  should  be  made  very  fine ;  but 
twisted  gut  snells,  finely  made,  are  better.  The  minnow 
should  represent  a  silver-side  or  a  shiner. 

This  would  be  a  killing  bait  to  offer  along  the  margin  of  a 
pickerel-pond  while  spinning  it  among  the  lily-pads  with  a 
long  rod.  Just  cast  it  as  far  as  convenient,  without  sinker ; 
let  it  sink  a  trifle,  and  draw  it  along,  when  its  spinning  will 
soon  be  stopped  if  there  is  a  pickerel,  perch,  or  glass-eyed 
pike,  or  even  a  black  bass  near.  Properly  made  and  handled, 
it  must  prove  a  very  attractive  lure  and  successful  bait. 

Haskell's  teolling-bait. — No.  1. 

The  invention  is  patented,  but  may  be  had  at  most  fishing- 
tackle  stores.  It  is  made  of  three  sizes.  The  largest  is  5^ 
inches  long ;  medium  size,  4^  inches  ;  small,  3  inches.  This 
troll  must  prove  a  successful  lure  if  properly  made.  A  whirl- 
ing joint  below  the  dorsal  fin  must  require  great  care  to  ren- 
der it  quite  free  and  yet  sufficiently  strong.  I  have  heard 
good  reports  of  the  bait,  and  should  think  it  would  prove 
successful' on  the  lakes  of  the  Adirondacks  and  among  the 
Thousand  Islands. 


298 


Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

A       1) 


This  bait  is  intended  to  represent  a  live  fish  with  a  screw  tail.  Its  main  feature  is  an 
ingenious  combination  of  the  spmmn*;  principle  with  that  of  the  well-known  "troll- 
ing minnow."  It  is  constructed  of  thm  sheet  metal,  beautifully  and  durably  sil- 
ver-plated. The  form,  as  indicated  by  the  engraving,  represents  a  perfect  fish ;  the 
main  portion  of  the  body  is  stationary,  and  keeps  in  a  vertical  position  in  the  wa- 
ter, while  the  tail  portion,  D,  revolves  at  the  jomt  C  by  means  of  the  turned  ends 
of  the  tail,  A  and  B. 

It  is  well  to  have  but  two  hooks  on  metal  trolls,  but  they 
should  be  as  large  as  allowable  for  the  size  of  lure. 

Needle-pointed,  finely  tempered  steel  hooks,  of  the  Sproat 
bend,  are  as  good  as  any. 

Especial  attention  should  always  be  paid  to  the  quality  of 
hooks  for  all  kinds  of  angling,  but  more  especially  for  troll- 
ins:. 

The  brightest  artificial  disguises  are  generally  the  best  for 
trolling  baits. 

This  troll,  if  made  strong  enough,  would  be  a  very  success- 
ful one  for  bluefish  and  Spanish  mackerel. 

THE    PROPELLING   MINNOW. No.  2. 

This  minnow  is  made  from  gutta-percha,  shaded  and  colored 
to  represent  a  live  minnow.  The  pectoral  fins  are  represent- 
ed by  screw  propellers,  which,  with  the  curve  of  the  tail,  ren- 
der the  lure  very  attractive,  as  its  motion  in  the  water  re- 
sembles that  of  a  living  fish.  This  may  be  made  of  any  size, 
to  suit  the  kind  of  fishing  for  which  it  is  required.  Andrew 
Clerk  &  Co.  have  them  of  all  sizes,  from  those  for  use  with  a 
fly-rod  to  such  as  are  large  enough  to  troll  with  for  the  fishes 
of  our  great  lakes. 

This  bait  has  never  been  tried  in  our  waters.  It  is^  similar 
to  the  troll  for  salmon  in  the  lakes  of  Scotland,  and,  I  think, 
will  prove  to  be  excellent  for  sea  trout.     It  received  a  pre- 


LuEES  FOR  Game  Fishes.  299 

mium  at  the  World's  Fair  in  Paris,  and  the  beauty  of  its 
make  surpasses  any  spinning  bait  that  I  have  seen.  A  small 
brass  swivel  connects  the  gimp  snell  with  the  line. 

buel's  patent  feathered  troll. — No.  3. 

Among  the  many  efforts  at  making  captivating  metal  trolls, 
the  one  with  a  piece  of  silver,  in  the  oval  or  fish-form,  revolv- 
ing at  the  head  of  the  shank  of  the  hook,  proved,  from  the 
year  it  was  invented,  the  most  successful ;  and,  when  the  ad- 
dition of  feathers  was  introduced,  I  trolled  with  it  at  the 
Thousand  Islands,  Rice  Lake,  and  on  other  waters,  always 
with  great  satisfaction. 

The  hooks  should  be  heavy  and  well  tempered.  M'Harg's 
troll  was  very  popular  at  the  Thousand  Islands,  chiefly  be- 
cause it  was  made  with  a  pair  of  hooks ;  but  he  tells  me  that 
recently  trollers  prefer  a  cluster  of  three  hooks.  Mr.  Clerk 
says  the  same.  It  is  a  great  mistake,  because  lar^e  fish  crush 
a  cluster  of  hooks  and  disgorge  them. 

The  feathers  which  I  found  the  most  taking  were  the  red 
ibis.  The  best  troll  that  I  ever  used  for  maskinonge  is  a  red 
ibis  feather  for  the  top  of  the  troll,  and  a  small  tuft  of  white 
hair  from  a  deer's  tail  for  the  under  side.  The  white  hair 
from  a  deer's  tail  is  brilliant  in  the  water,  and  it  disguises  the 
point  of  the  hook,  while  the  attractive  red  feathers  extend 
back  of  the  bend  of  the  hook  from  the  top  of  the  shank.  I 
prefer,  also,  plain  brass  trolls,  trolls  of  silver  for  one  side  and 
of  copper  for  the  other,  and  trolls  of  pure  silver.  The  troll 
for  maskinonge  should  be  oval  in  shape,  and  from  two  and  a 
half  to  three  inches  long,  playing  round  from  a  shoulder  on 
the  shank  of  the  hook.  The  hooks  should  be  next  to  the  lar- 
gest size  represented  on  the  plate  of  implements  for  taking 
striped  bass. 

spinning-tackle  for  live  baits. 
The  three  desiderata  in  spinning  rigs  for  trolling  with  and 
playing  live  bait  are,  1st,  the  strength  and  applicability  of 


300 


Fishing  in  American  Watees. 


Spinning-tackle  for  Live  Baits. 

the  gangs  of  hopks ;  2d,  the  natural  play  of  the  bait  when  at- 
tached to  the  gang ;  and,  3d,  the  delicacy  necessary  to  form 
it  an  attraction  instead  of  a  warning.  No.  1  represents  an 
adjustable  gang,  the  movable  upper  hook  sliding,  and  with  a 
half-knot  fastening  at  the  bend  of  the  hook  to  the  correct 
length,  to  hold  the  fish  by  the  lips  and  leave  the  gills  free. 

Always  use  shiners  for  bait  when  they  are  to  be  had.  In 
impaling  or  affixing  the  minnow  or  shiner  to  the  gang  of 
hooks,  first  insert  the  bottom  hook  nearly  an  inch  above  the 
tail,  and  run  it  down  and  out  at  the  tail,  as  represented  by 
No.  2,  so  as  to  curve  the  tail ;  and,  that  the  tail  may  have 
precisely  the  correct  curve,  fix  the  next  hook,  at  the  top  of 
the  shank  of  the  large  hook,  in  the  skin  at  the  side,  so  as  to 
hold  the  tail  to  the  curve  required ;  then  insert  under  the 
skin  the  two  middle  hooks,  which  fasten  more  firmly  the  bait, 
and  confine  it  to  the  requisite  curve.  Then  slide  down  the 
lip-hook,  or  upper  one,  and  insert  it  through  both  the  lips  of 
the  fish,  shutting  its  mouth,  but  leaving  the  gills  free  for  res- 
piration.    Take  a  half  hitch  with  the  snell  round  the  shank 


The  Biter  Bitten.  301 

of  the  hook  at  the  curve,  wind  it  a  few  times  round  the 
shank,  and  run  it  through  the  hole  at  the  top  of  the  shank  of 
tha  hook.  This  completes  baiting ;  and  with  a  good  swivel 
at  the  top  of  the  snell  or  snood,  a  few  inches  (say  six)  above 
the  upper  hook,  the  bait  will  revolve  in  water,  and  remain  an 
attractive  lure  for  hours  while  trolling,  unless  a  bite  inter- 
venes, and  then  the  biter  is  quite  sure  to  be  hooked ;  for  the 
triangular  gang,  playing  to  a  ring  on  the  outside  of  the  fish, 
is  generally  sure  to  intercept  the  fish  (which  aims  at  the  head 
of  the  bait)  before  it  is  taken  by  the  tail-hook. 

Francis  Francis,  in  philosophizing  upon  the  superiority  of 
the  spinning  of  artificial  baits  over  natural  ones,  concludes 
that  it  is  "  because  they  are  stiff  throughout ;"  and  that  is 
one  of  the  reasons  why  they  do  not  get  out  of  proper  shape 
as  do  the  living  ones  when  not  properly  impaled  and  perma- 
nently fixed  on  a  gang  of  hooks  so  arranged  as  that  nothing 
but  a  bite  will  disturb  or  derange  the  bait.  I  have  not  the 
slightest  hesitation  in  pronouncing  this  spinning  gang  the 
best  arrangement  of  hooks  that  has  thus  far  been  presented 
to  the  American  angler. 

Figures  3  and  4  illustrate  what  is  termed  the  "  dead  snap." 
Of  course,  all  gangs  for  natural  baits  should  either  be  fasten- 
ed to  single,  double,  or  twisted  gut  snells,  or  to  the  finest  pos- 
sible silver  gimp  wire.  They  are  generally  wound  to  the  lat- 
ter with  fine  wire,  but  fresh-water  trolls  or  spinning  gangs 
should  be  fastened  on  silk-worm  gut.  Regulate  the  number 
of  plies  of  gut  to  the  size  and  power  of  fish  to  be  trolled  for. 
The  present  gang,  No.  3,  may  be  fastened  to  single  gut,  if  the 
gut  be  round  and  strong. 

In  baiting,  insert  the  tail  hook  firsts  then  the  middle  hook 
just  under  the  skin,  and  finally  slide  down  the  lip -hook 
and  insert  it  through  both  lips.  Sometimes  a  baiting-needle 
is  used  to  insert  the  snell  from  the  body  out  at  the  mouth 
through  the  upper  gill-cover.  The  upper  hook  should  always 
slide  on  the  snell  by  a  hole  or  small  loop  of  gut  at  the  top  of 
the  shank. 


302  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

All  fishes  of  the  genus  Salmo  are  more  readily  captured  by 
trolling  with  natural  baits,  such  as  the  shiner  or  the  smelt, 
which  is  the  salmon's  natural  food,  to  a  troll  formed-  of 
burnished  silver,  with  the  hook  disguised  by  gay  feathers, 
while  all  families  of  the  pike  and  perch  prefer  the  feathered 
squid.  For  trolling,  the  black  bass  prefei's  live  bait;  but  in 
July  he  will  bite  at  almost  any  gay  fly,  if  artistically  pre- 
sented. 

'The  troll  is  the  most  killing  method  of  angling  short  of  the 
net  and  the  pound,  and  yet  it  is  not  nearly  so  popular  in 
America  as  in  Europe.  An  American  gentleman  would  hard- 
ly consent  to  troll  for  salmon,  and  yet  in  both  Scotland  and 
Ireland  they  cross-fish  for  them  by  "two  row-boats  carrying 
each  an  angler  with  troUing-rods,  and  the  lines  of  each  angler 
are  connected  at  the  ends,  where  a  float  marks  the  division. 
To  each  line  numerous  flies  are  attached,  and  the  boats  are 
rowed  along  at  a  convenient  distance,  and  when  a  salmon 
bites,  the  angler  on  which  side  of  the  float  the  fish  is  fastened 
reels  and  plays  the  salmon,  while  the  other  angler  gives  line. 
If  the  oarsmen,  who  gaff  the  fish,  get  nervous,  a  snarl  of  lines 
and  hooks,  and  a  loss  of  the  fish,  are  results  quite  naturally 
expected  and  frequently  realized. 

SPOON-VICTUALS   FOR  LONG-SNOUTS. 

The  larger  sizes  of  feathered  spoons  are  preferred  in  troll- 
ing for  the  maskinonge  and  the  great  Northern  pickerel,  as 
also  for  the  glass-eyed  pike.  The  difference  in  the  two  styles 
of  troll  is  illustrated  by  A  and  B.  Troll  A  revolves  on  a 
shoulder,  to  which  two  hooks  are  first  wound  with  brass-wire, 
then  soldered.  On  the  shank,  as  represented,  feathers  are 
mounted.  Decisive  colors  are  to  be  preferred,  such  as  red 
and  white.  Sometimes  two  swivels,  one  at  the  shank  of  the 
hook  and  the  other  at  the  end  of  the  gimp  snell,  six  inches 
above,  are  used  to  prevent  the  rapidity  of  the  action  of  the 
troll  from  kinking  the  line. 

Troll  B  is   so   arranged  that  different  fly-hooks  may  bo 


Captivating  Trolls. 


303 


looped  on  by  their  wires  at  the  joint,  as  illustrated.  It  is 
supposed  by  many  that  this  rig  is  the  best,  because  it  permits 
free  play  to  the  hooks.  In  all  other  respects  it  is  similar  to  A. 
Feathered  trolls,  like  A  and  B,  made  strong,  with  stout 
hooks,  and  heavy,  strong  gimp  or  wire  snells,  would  be  most 
killing  among  such  coast  fishes  as  the  Spanish  mackerel,  blue- 
fish,  and  squeteague. 


TROLLING    WEATHER   AND    BAITS. 

Of  weather  for  trolling  there  are  several  opinions.  Some 
think  that  the  calm  after  a  storm  is  the  best  time;  others, 
that  a  windy  day  is  best.  It  is  good  weather  for  all  kinds  of 
angling  and  trolling  when  the  mercury  is  well  up  in  the  ba- 
rometer and  there  is  a  gentle  breeze ;  also  when  the  sun  looks 
with  a  modest  silver  face,  it  is  much  better  than  when  the  • 
god  of  day  is  red  and  fiery,  or  glares  with  a  golden  or  jaun- 
diced stare. 


304  Fishing  in  American  "Watees. 

Trolling  is  a  luxurious  style  of  fishing.  It  is  not  very  ar- 
tistic until  the  fish  fastens.  Then  the  play  of  the  fish  calls 
for  the  deftly-expert  handling  by  an  angler  whose  experience 
has  taught  him  the  strength  and  tricks  to  effect  escape  pecu- 
liar to  each  family  of  fishes. 

.  Of  bait-fishes,  the  river  chub  probably  ranks  next  to  the 
shiner.  It  bites  eagerly  to  a  minnow-hook  baited  with  liver. 
Then  there  are  the  daces,  both  the  homed  and  smooth  heads, 
which  are  good  for  bait,  and  bite  readily  to  a  red  fly,  angle- 
worm, or  liver.  The  stone-sucker  is  often  used  for  bait,  but 
it  has  no  other  merit  than  being  firm  and  lasting ;  it  is  not  a 
taking  lure.  I  am  in  the  habit,  when  angling  in  the  interior 
of  the  country,  and  in  want  of  minnow  bait,  to  cut  a  two-inch 
thick  rod,  with  a  fork  at  the  end,  trimming  the  fork,  and  cut- 
ting it  down  to  the  length  of  two  feet,  and  then  fastening  a 
piece  of  bobbinet  lace  or  musquito-netting  into  the  fork,  full 
enough  to  form  a  bag,  and  with  that  extemporized  scap-net 
I  have  always  been  able  to  scap  up  enough  bait  from  the 
brooks  or  backsets  from  the  fishing  waters.  But  it  is  more 
desirable  to  carry  a  minnow-net  on  making  these  country  ex- 
cursions. The  gaff-hook,  landing-net,  and  minnow-net  are  es- 
sential implements  toward  an  outfit  for  an  expedition  for 
general  fishing. 

PISH-HOOKS. 

In  the  two  rows  of  hooks  represented  opposite,  the  angler 
may  see  the  two  important  betids^  without  reference  to  the 
slight  bend  side  wise,  and  called  the  Kirhy  bend^  which  may  be 
given  to  either  one.  Some  anglers  prefer  a  Kirby  bend,  while 
others  contend  that  it  is  not  so  good  for  mounting  with  flies 
for  either  salmon  or  trout ;  but  Mr.  Hyde,  the  best  amateur 
expert  in  America,  generally  mounts  his  flies  on  Kirby  round- 
bends.  Offish-hooks  the  shape  is  important,  but  scarcely  more 
•  so  than  are  the  qualities  of  metal,  temper,  and  finish.  Oh, 
how  many  aching  regrets  and  hopeless*  feelings  of  momentary 
desperation  have  been  caused  by  a  flaw  in  a  fish-hook,  or  in 


Importance  of  Fish-hooks. 


305 


O 


on 

'12  '     13 


n 

'       14 


QQnn 


15 


I 


its  deficiency  of  quality  !  As  the  quality  of  the  hook  is  the 
foundation  of  the  general  results  for  the  angler,  it  may  not  be 
a  matter  of  surprise  that  I  endeavor  to  impress  the  embryo 
philosopher  with  the  importance  of  fish-hooks-  I  remember 
that,  when  a  boy  of  seven  summers,  an  extemporized  bridge 
for  carting  hay  was  cast  over  a  trout-brook  in  front  of  our 
dwelling,  and  that  I  baited  a  pin  with  a  worm  and  lay  down 
on  the  bridge,  which  was  but  a'  few  inches  above  the  water, 
and  let  the  baited  pin  run  under  the  bridge.  In  a  moment 
I  experienced  a  tremendous  jerk,  and  pulled  in  my  line,  when 
the  trout  struggled,  and  finally  straightened  my  pin -hook. 
Oh,  what  would  I  not  have  promised  at  that  moment  to  give 
for  a  real  fish-hook!  The  store  was  near  by,  where  two 
hooks  might  be  had  for  a  cent,  but  where  was  the  cent  ?  I 
have  never  forgotten  the  feelings  of  that  moment,  and  never 
will  while  life  lasts.  .1  would  therefore  plead  for  paternal 
generosity  toward  youths  who  early  contract  a  penchant  for 


angling. 


U 


306  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

The  rows  of  samples  include  the  useful  sizes  to  mount  with 
flies  for  salmon  and  large  brook  trout,  or  to  use  for  bait  in 
the  river  fishings  for  commoner  fish.  The  upper  row  repre- 
sent Adlington  &  Hutchinson's  needle-pointed  round-bends. 
This  is  also  an  excellent  hook  for  small  striped  bass  and  black 
bass,  and  generally  for  fishing  when  a  float  is  used. 

The  lower  row  of  Sproat  bend  hooks  are  samples  of  the 
manufacture  of  Hutchinson  &  Sons,  intended  for  the  same 
uses  as  the  foregoing.  This  bend  is  better  than  the  round 
one  for  fish  with  a  small  mouth,  like  th^  kingfish.  The  Sproat 
bend  appears  to  be  the  neplus  ultra  in  the  form  and  quality 
of  a  fish-hook.  The  Virginia  hook  is  quite  similar  in  its  short- 
ness of  nib  and  low  bend,  while  the  Kinsey  or  Pennsylvania 
hook  is  lower  still  in  the  nib  and  wider  in  the  bend,  and,  being 
shorter  from  the  point  of  the  hook  to  the  bend  or  centre  of 
draught,  is  preferred  by  many ;  but  my  experience  in  losing 
large  fish  by  their  springing  the  hook  out  induces  me  to  pre- 
fer a  hook  of  larger  wire,  finer  finish,  and  tempered  better. 
These  hooks  enlarge  gradually  to  No.  20,  and  in  quality  are 
truly  superior. 

SALMON   FLIES. 

The  flies  on  the  upper  row  are  tied  on  the  Adlington  hook 
with  Sproat  hend^  while  those  of  the  lower  row  are  mounted 
on  the  round  bend,  of  numbers  from  15  to  18. 


Fig.  1.  Wing  of  diagonally  barred  feathers  from  under  side  of  snipe's  wing,  in  drab 
and  black  ;  dark  blue  and  black  pig's-wool  hackle  ;  gold  tail.  Fig.  2.  Mottled  black 
and  white  wing  from  a  turkey's  tail;  body  of  olive-colored  mohair  and  black  hackle, 
•with  brown  shoulders,  and  orange  peacock  tail.  Fi^.  3.  Black  and  drab  diagonally 
barred  wing,  blue  and  claret  hackle  body,  with  gold  shoulder ;  tail  of  gold  and 

f'een.  Fig. 4.  Brown  wings  and  legs,  drab  body,  all  of  gutta-percha;  glass  eyes, 
ig.  5.  Ribbed  drab  wing  and  antennae ;  legs  and  body  of  gutta-percha ;  reddish- 
brown  mohair  shoulders,  and  black  bead  eyes.  Fig.  6.  White  miller ;  white  ribbed 
wings,  drab  body  and  legs,  red  glass  eyes.  Fig.  7.  Brown  gutta-percha  wings,  pur- 
ple body  wound  with  gold  tinsel,  reddish-brown  mohair  shoulders.  Fig.  8.  Black 
hackle  body  wound  with  gold ;  barred  duck-wing  tail ;  argo  pheasant  wing.  Fig. 
9.  Purple  body  with  gold  tail ;  blue  and  purple  hackle  ;  tail  of  the  golden  pheasant 
top-knot ;  brown  mallard  wings.  Fig.  10.  Brown  and  white  pheasant  wing ;  gold 
body  and  tail ;  brown  hackle  shoulders,  and  black  hackle  head.  Fig.  11.  Golden 
body  and  tail ;  black  hackle  shoulders,  with  pheasant  and  burnt-brown  wings. 

Asia  has  contributed  more  material  for  artificial  flies  in  her 
numerous  families  of  pheasants  than  has  any  other  quarter  of 
the  globe.     Neither  the  South  American  fox,  the  barred  wing 


308  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

of  the  wood-duck,  nor  the  brown  mallard  feather  are  equal  in 
attraction  and  delicacy  to  the  top-knot  of  the  golden  pheas- 
ant, or  the  feathers  of  the  argo  pheasant.  The  two  lower 
rows  of  flies  are  copies  of  those  used  with  success  last  year 
in  Canada  by  Dr.  Clerk,  of  Andrew  Clerk  &  Co. 

FLY  DRESSING. 
tEOUT-FLIES. 

Fig.  1.  Preparatory  to  snelling  your  hook,  which  means  tying 
the  hook  to  a  silk-worm  gut  snell,  wind  the  head  of  the 
shank  with  several  turns  of  waxed  silk.  Wax  for  fly-tying 
is  the  same  as  shoemaker's,  only  more  clear  and  lighter  col- 
ored. Then  wind  three  or  four  times  from  near  the  bend 
of  the  hook  up  to  the  first  thread  at  the  head,  and  lay  the 
end  of  the  gut  on  the  inside  of  the  shank  down  near  to  the 
bend,  and  wind  with  the  last  silk  thread  down  to  the  end, 
and  fasten  end  as  directed  on  the  page  of"  loops  and  ties," 
leaving  ends  as  1.  Fig.  3  is  the  same  as  1,  only  the  end  of 
silk  at  the  bend  end  of  the  tie  is  cut  short,  whereas  the 
two  threads  of  1  are  seen  on  2  as  follows : 

Fig.  2.  Place  two  hairs  as  antennae,  and  the  hackle  that  you 
intend  for  the  head  in  the  direction  of  the  bend  of  hook, 
and  fasten  them  by  several  loops ;  then  fasten  the  end  of 
the  dufiing  like  2  or  9,  and  wind  it  round  the  hook  to  form 
the  body,  winding  it  afterward  with  a  thread  of  gold  or 
silver  twist,  or  a  hackle  feather  like  4,  fastened  as  at  10, 
and  wind  round  the  body.  Then  add  the  wings  like  5, 
finishing  off"  like  8  ;  or  cut  from  a  feather  a  j^air  of  wings 
like  6,  and  wind  them  from  the  head  so  they  will  maintain 
their  present  spread  shape.  Many  tyers  of  trout-flies  tie 
only  one  wing  on,  but  it  never  falls  so  naturally  as  do  the 
two-winged  flies ;  and,  to  imitate  Nature  perfectly,  some 
flies  require  to  be  tied  with  four  wings.  Imitate  the  natu- 
ral fly  as  shown  on  the  plate  of  "  natural  and  artificial 
flies." 


310  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 


MOUNTING   SALMON-HOOKS. 

Fig.  11.  Wind  on  your  silk-gut  loop,  and  wind  the  end  of  your 
duffing  and  antenna,  fastening  it  all  at  the  head,  and  form- 
ing the  head  of  hackle  as  shown  by  14.  The  hackle  should 
be  doubled,  as  represented  by  7 ;  and,  after  the  duffing  is 
wound,  the  hackle  should  cover  it  like  1 3 ;  or  the  hackle 
may  be  heavy  like  12.  Some  persons  use  a  vice  to  hold 
the  hook,  as  14 ;  but  the  best  artists  at  fly-tying  do  not 
use  them.  After  the  duffing,  the  antennae,  and  hackle  are 
fastened,  the  body  is  usually  wound  with  a  cord  of  silver  or 
gold,  as  13  and  15,  when  the  wings  are  fastened  like  12  and 
15,  the  head  and  tail  finished  like  the  latter,  and  the  ends 
of  threads  covered  and  closed  off  with  shellac.  This  also 
fastens  the  tinsel  at  the  head  of  the  antennae ;  but  with  all 
your  windings  of  hackle,  duffing  (the  body),  cord,  or  tinsel, 
carry  with  each  your  thread  of  silk,  well  waxed  with  trans- 
parent wax,  and  as  nearly  the  color  of  the  material  you  are 
winding  as  possible.  First  fasten  well  your  hook  to  the 
snell,  and  then  exercise  taste  and  practice  delicacy  of  ma- 
nipulation. After  all,  an  hour's  instruction  from  an  artist 
is  worth  more  than  all  the  books  in  Christendom  on  in- 
struction for  making  artificial  files.  I  prefer  to  purchase 
flies  from  those  who  follow  the  art  for  a  livelihood;  but 
all  anglers  should  be  able  to  tie  a  fly  when  in  a  wilderness. 

THE    PONDEEATING   SINKEE. 

This  recent  invention  is  not  in  general  use,  or  known  to 
many  anglers.  I  have  tried  it.  it  may  do  for  river  and  fresh- 
water fishings  with  a  float,  but  for  bottom  fishing  the  hollow 
tracing  sinker  is  vastly  superior.  The  object  for  thus  in- 
creasing the  ponderosity  of  a  sinker  is  to  save  the  trouble  of 
carrying  numerous  sinkers  of  different  weights  when  going 
a-fishing,  and  to  increase  or  decrease  the  weight  without  tak- 
ing off  the  sinker. 

Explanation  of  the  Cut. — No.  1  is  the  smallest  size  of  the 


A  NEW  Combination. 


311 


set  represented.  In  case  a  heavier  sinker  is  required,  No.  1 
is  unscrewed,  and  presents  the  appearance  of  Nos.  2  and  3. 
The  increased  weight  necessary  is  found  in  such  wheels  as  4 
and  5,  which  are  screwed  on  3,  and  then  2  is  again  fastened 
to  3  by  means  of  the  screw.  The  sinkers  are  of  lead,  and  the 
screw  of  3  and  the  hole  of  2  are  brass,  in  order  that  they  shall 
be  strong  and  not  corrode.  I  can  not  recommend  them  for 
the  heavy  fish  of  our  bays  and  cstuai;Je8,  as  they  are  liable  to 
unscrew  on  the  bottom  and  in  a  strong  tide ;  but  as  sinkers 
for  float-fishing,  no  invention,  I  think,  could  be  more  oppor- 
tune. They  are  to  be  found  at  the  principal  fishing-tflackle 
stores. 


art    tljiri. 


COMMERCIAL    FISHERIES. 


CHAPTER  I. 
LAKE  FISHERIES. 
Statistics  of  a  couple  of  Fisheries  on  the  Western  Lakes. 
As  I  have  before  stated  that  this  is-  not  a  school-book,  I  will 
add  that  it  is  not  intended  for  the  counting-room.     The  few 
statistics  given  are  mere  glimpses  at  a  branch  of  industry 
which  is  a  sealed  book  to  the  public.     The  lake  fisheries  of 
the  United  States  are  confined  to  the  southern  half  of  the 
range  of  lakes  to  which  the  River  St.  Lawrence  is  the  outlet. 
Later  in  the  history  of  this  country  important  fisheries  will 
be  established  on  Lake  Superior  and  at  intervals  far  beyond. 
At  present  the  few  fisheries  are  controlled  by  private  indi- 
viduals or  companies,  who  have  not  cared  for  the  publicity 
which  would  enable  reporters  to  make  a  correct  estimate  of 
this  industry. 

FOOD-FISHES   OF  LAKE    SUPERIOR. 

The  catch  of  fish  in  Lake  Superior  averages  about  ten 
thousand  barrels,  of  which  nine  thousand  are  whitefish,  and 
the  remainder  ciscoquettes  (ciscos) ;  but  this  only  applies  to 
the  fish  which  are  salted  for  an  Eastern  market ;  for  large 
quantities  are  shipped  while  fresh,  of  which  no  correct  ac- 
count is  kept.  In  Detroit  one  firm  alone  ships  annually  some 
three  hundred  tons  of  whitefish,  which,  however,  is  a  portion 
of  the  harvest  of  Lake  Huron. 

The  largest  whitefis*h  are  caught  below  Copper  Harbor,  in 
Lake  Superior,  and  weigh  about  8  pounds,  or  60  to  a  barrel ; 
those  caught  above  Copper  Harbor  average  1^  to  2  pounds, 
and  about  1 30  to  the  barrel. 

From  an  estimate  made  in  dollars  by  the  dealers  in  Lake  Supe- 
rior fishes,  the  catch  of  last  year,  when  salted,  amounted  to... $200, 000  00 
300  tons  fresh  whitefish,  shipped  by  one  house,  at  10  cts.  per  lb.      60.000  00 

$200,000  00 


316  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

My  informant — who  is  one  of  the  most  intelligent  fisher- 
men of  the  lakes — adds  that  "  ciscoquettes"  (or  the  ciscos)  are 
supposed  to  be  the  finest  of  the  fresh-water  fishes  taken  in  the 
lakes.  "  They  are  something  like  a  Spanish  mackerel,  very 
fat,  and  becoming  valuable.  They  are  never  found  far  away 
from  copper-mines,  and  wherever  copper  is  found  most  abund- 
ant there  also  are  found  the  greatest  number  of  ciscoquettes. 
None  are  caught  at  the  lower  end  of  the  lake.  Fishing  is  yet 
in  its  infancy,  many  places  having  never  been  fished  before 
last  season,"  ^.  e.  1867.  The  ciscoquette  is  only  like  the  Span- 
ish mackerel  in  its  flavor  being  free  from  any  foreign  taste ; 
but  it  is  more  juicy,  and,  if  possible,  more  delicate  in  flavor. 

FISHERY  OF   SANDUSKY,  OHIO. 

This  is  one  of  the  principal  fisheries  on  the  lakes,  and  the 
following  statement  shows  its  annual  catch,  and  the  means 
employed : 

WHITEFISH. 

Taken  in  pounds,  1,800,000  fish  ;  aggregate  weight,  4,500,000 

lbs.;  price,  10  cents  the  pound,  or $450,000  00 

2000  lbs.  daily,  or  over,  for  200  days,  taken  in  gill-nets 40,000  00 

490,000  00 

GLASS-EYED   OR   WALL-EYED   PIKE. 

4,400,000  pounds,  of  sizes  running  from  1  ^  to  14  lbs.  each.    The 

wholesale  price  averages  4  cents  the  pound 1 76,000  00 

BLACK   BASS. 

65,000.     Average,  3  lbs.     Price,  4^  cents  per  lb 8,775  00 

SAND    PICKEREL    OR    SAND   PIKE. 

1,200,000.     Price,  1  cent  each 12,000  00 

LAKE    HERRINGS. 

13,500,000  fish,  weight  ^  lb.  each,  at  i  cent  per  lb 33, 750  00 

WHITE   BASS. 

1,200,000  fish,  at  a  cent  each : 12,000  00 

MASKINONGE. 

500  fish,  10  lbs.  each,  at  6  cents  per  lb •         300  00 

LAKE   TROUT. 

20,000  lbs.  caught  at  Cape  Vincent,  N.Y.,  and  40,000  lbs.  caught 

at  Collingville  and  Greenwood,  at  10  cents  per  lb 6,000  00 

Amount  total $738,825  00 


Fish  Pounds  and  Food-fishes.  317 


NUMBER  AND    EXTENT    OF   NETS    EMPLOYED. 

The  fishery  has  150  pounds  or  stationary  nets,  set  in  waters 
from  20  to  42  feet  deep.  The  length  of  each  net  is  100  rods, 
and  the  cost  $1000  each.  Amount  total,  $150,000.  The  cost 
of  fish-pounds  are  the  principal  expense,  though  the  company 
has  in  continued  use  1000  gill-nets,  twenty  seines,  and  numer- 
ous small  boats.  The  fishery  is  very  prosperous,  and  owned 
by  men  of  energy  and  business  capacity. 

The  extensive  coast  and  estuary  fisheries  of  the  United 
States,  having  been  regularly  worked  ever  since  the  eastern 
border  was  first  settled  by  Europeans,  have  to  such  a  degree 
absorbed  the  capital  and  enterprise  of  fishei-men  and  fish-deal- 
ers that  the  lake  and  river  fisheries  were  not  thought  of  until 
within  the  past  twenty  years,  with  one  solitary  exception. 
Prior  to  that  date  the  establishment  of  fisheries  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  United  States  was  not  even  spoken  of  Now  there 
are  many,  from  which  I  have  selected  the  foregoing  exemplars 
to  illustrate  results  of  this  growing  industry. 

Throughout  the  interior  of  our  vast  territory  there  is  an 
ornamental  tracery  of  running,  sweet,  and  healthful  waters, 
well  supplied  with  food-fishes.  The  working  of  these  waters 
is  free  to  all  fishermen,  with  the  unimportant  exception  of  a 
few  depleted  rivers,  consequent  on  their  having  been  over- 
worked, but  which  are  now  being  restocked  and  protected  by 
legislative  enactments  during  the  process  of  recuperatio^i. 
These  are  all  near  the  sea-board.  The  lakes  and  lengthy  riv- 
ers of  the  interior  are  still  free ;  and  where  no  regular  fish- 
eries are  established,  the  inhabitants  take  what  fresh  fish  they 
want,  either  with  t^e  angle,  net,  or  spear.  The  poaching  pro- 
clivity of  some  indolent  persons  has  induced  them  to  use  the 
spear  too  freely  in  our  small  lakes  during  winter.  In  the 
State  of  New  York  there  is  a  law  against  it,  with  fine  and 
penalty  attached,  but  it  is  still  done  in  defiance  of  law.  These 
poachers  erect  a  board  shanty  on  sleigh-runners,  furnished 


318  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

with  a  foot-stove,  and  a  hole  in  the  ridge  of  the  roof  for  the 
spear-handle.  This  shanty  they  draw  out  on  the  lake,  cut  a 
hole  through  the  ice  under  it,  lock  the  door,  and  commence 
spearing  all  the  fish  that  come  near  their  hole.  If  the  con- 
stable raps  at  the  door,  no  reply  is  meant  to  signify  that  the 
occupant  is  absent.  Thus  poachers  squat  in  villages  on  our 
lakes  in  winter  when  the  ice  is  thick,  and  spear  the  fish  at  a 
season  when  they  are  unwholesome  for  food.  In  Canada,  for 
attracting  the  maskinonge  to  the  spear,  in  one  hand  the 
poacher  holds  a  line  attached  to  an  artificial  minnow,  which 
he  keeps  playing  in  the  water,  while  with  the  other  hand  he 
holds  the  spear.  The  maskinonge  darts  to  within  a  foot  of 
the  minnow,  and,  while  hesitating  there,  the  spear  takes  him. 
The  great  Western  rivers  swarm  with  fish,  and  all  the  way 
for  five  hundred  miles  below  the  sources  of  both  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Missouri  every  tributary  is  a  trout-stream.  In 
addition  to  the  pike  and  pickerel,  the  glass-eyed  pike,  doree, 
or  sand  pickerel,  the  gray  pickerel,  known  as  the  Ohio  salmon, 
there  are  some  half  dozen  varieties  of  bass  in  nearly  every 
Western  river,  besides  perch,  sunfish,  chub,  bream,  eels,  buf- 
falo. There  are  also  several  varieties  of  catfish,  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  are  the  black,  yellow,  and  channel  cats. 
The  Missouri  River  is  justly  celebrated  for  the  latter  fish, 
which  runs  from  five  to  fifteen  pounds  each,  and,  besides  yield- 
ing excellent  sport  for  the  rod,  is  a  choice  table  luxury,  equal- 
ing the  salure  of  the  Danube,  which  is  also  a  species  of  cat- 
fish highly  prized  by  European  epicures. 


The  Hammer-headed  Shaek. 


An  important  Need  of  Man.  319 


CHAPTER  n. 

COAST  FISHES  AND  FISHERIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  fisheries  of  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Chesapeake  Bay 
to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  are  so  extensive  as  to  cause  re- 
gret that  statistics  in  the  catches  of  many  important  fishes 
are  not  sufficiently  reliable  to  form  the  data  necessary  to  a 
correct  report  of  the  numbers  and  weights  annually  caught 
by  the  thousands  of  fishermen  who  keep  no  account  of  their 
takes,  but  sell  them  at  retail  or  wholesale,  and  live  on  the  pro- 
ceeds, without  keeping  an  account  of  their  expenses. 

Coasting  New  England's  rocky  shore, 
Sailing  where  Southern  surges  pour, 
The  daring  fishers  spread  the  sail 
To  Southern  haze  and  Northern  gale. 
Thousands  of  craft  the  ocean  speck, 
Thousands  of  seamen  pace  the  deck, 
Eager  to  follow  to  the  end, 
Where'er  the  mackerel  shoal  may  tend. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  food-fishes  of  the  seas, 
as  well  as  one  of  the  most  prolific.  Nature,  in  the  harmoni- 
ous arrangement  of  the  universe,  and  in  turning  all  things 
toward  man's  good,  has  made  the  duration  and  existence  of 
numerous  families  of  fishes  dependent  upon  their  searching 
out  brooding-places  and  depositing  their  eggs  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  man's  nipR.  By  the  process  of  procreation,  these 
fish  form,  to  a  certain  extent,  home  attractions,  and  dally 
about  the  shoals  near  shore,  where  they  are  fished  for  with 
the  hook,  and  the  more  sure  means  of  a  drift-net  twenty  feet 
deep  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  well  corked  at 
top,  but  with  no  leads  at  the  bottom,  for  when  mackerel  are 


320  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

in  a  biting  or  a  moving  mood  they  rise  to  the  surface.  Like 
all  sea  fishes,  the  mackerel  is  more  easily  taken  than  fishes  of 
fresh  waters.  He  foolishly  dashes  at  whatever  he  sees  before 
him  which  he  thinks  will  not  devour  him.  But  in  this  pecu- 
liarity he  does  not  differ  from  the  royal  salmon,  which  will 
snap  at  flies  when  out  of  season,  and  evince  the  most  culpable 
rapacity  when  just  returned  from  sea,  even  biting  at  an  arti- 
ficial minnow,  or  a  fly  unlike  any  thing  in  existence. 


The  Mackerel. — Scombridce — Scomber. — Linn, 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  fish  more  exquisite  in  form, 
or  more  important  in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  than  the 
common  mackerel.  It  is  also  capricious  in  its  movements. 
It  is  not  always  to  be  depended  on  for  visiting  us  in  great 
numbers,  though  it  has  never  entirely  deserted  us  for  a  sin- 
gle season.  It  is  in  best  condition  on  our  shores  in  October. 
Then  it  is  most  succulent,  and  orders  for  private  tables  should 
be  made  of  that  month's  catch.  Catches  early  in  the  season 
are  lean.  The  catch  of  June  is  scarcely  worth  salting ;  but 
mackerel  fatten  fast,  and  by  September  are  very  good.  Oc- 
tober mackerel  are  preferable  to  those  of  any  other  month  in 
the  year,  for,  as  a  singular  fact  in  the  nature  of  the  fish,  it  be- 
gins to  deteriorate  or  lose  condition  in  November.  In  gen- 
eral, mackerel  move  away  from  shore  gradually  after  the  first 
frost,  and  they  finally  settle  off  in  soundings,  not  much  influ- 
enced by  the  cold  weather  along  our  shares.  October  is  con- 
sidered the  closing  month  of  the  mackerel  season ;  but  about 
five  years  since,  near  the  1st  of  December,  the  fishermen  of 
New  Providence,  Massachusetts,  were  surprised  by  the  sight 
of  the  saltatory  exploits  on  the  bay  of  myriads  of  mackerel 
leaping,  shining,  and  gleaming  in  every  direction.    The  boats 


The  Conscience  of  Mackerel.  321 

were  supplied  with  bait,  and  manned  in  quick  time  for  even 
Yankees,  and  the  take  that  day  was  almost  miraculous.  The 
catch  that  season  had  been  short,  but  that  day  made  up  the 
deficiency  of  the  year.  The  next  morning  indicated  that  the 
shoal  had  stacked  arms  and  was  prepare^  to  march.  But 
few  were  taken  that  day,  and  less  numbers  each  day  for  a 
week  that  the  fleet  followed  them,  when  the  shoals  all  sank, 
as  by  one  general  order,  off  the  coast  of  New  Jersey. 

It  was  matter  of  great  surprise  to  the  fishermen  that  the 
mackerel  voluntarily  yielded  themselves  to  appease  the  fish- 
ermen and  supply  the  fish-casks  of  human  need ;  but,  having 
done  so,  the  shoals  seemed  to  have  retired  with  a  glow  of  sat- 
isfaction at  having  done  their  duty,  even  at  the  loss  of  some 
of  their  favorites. 

In  vain  is  the  intimation  to  the  pious  fisherman  that  mack- 
erel are  as  liable  to  mistakes  in  their  calculations  as  men,  and 
so  settled,  before  the  regular  fishing  season  was  over,  in  too 
cold  a  latitude,  and  rose  during  a  warm  term  to  take  a  lunar, 
and  lay  their  course  for  more  genial  winter  quarters.  No ! 
The  fishermen  believe  that,  smitten  by  conscience  for  not  fur- 
nishing the  usual  supply,  the  fish  voluntarily  yielded  them- 
selves to  the  sacrifice  for  conscience'  sake. 

Mackerel,  to  be  fully  appreciated,  should  leap  as  it  were 
from  the  water  into  the  hands  of  the  cook,  and  be  made  ready 
for  the  gridiron,  broiled,  and  on  the  table  in  half  an  hour  aft- 
er it  has  left  its  native  element.  Or  a  salted  October  mack- 
erel can  not  be  depreciated  by  a  person  of  nice  taste ;  though, 
of  course,  a  fresh  fish  is  better  than  a  cured  one,  and  the  soon- 
er it  is  cooked  after  its  last  shuddering  flutter,  and  its  ultra- 
marine tints  die  away,  the  better. 

The  mackerel  frequents  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Belle  Isle 
to  Long  Island.  It  spawns  in  spring  in  the  bays,  bayous,  and 
estuaries,  and  comes  into  season  for  the  table  in  August. 

"Whether  from  the  abundance  of  suitable  food  found  at  such  times,  or 
from  some  other  causes  which  influence  the  migrations  of  fish,  it  is  hard  to 
sayy  but  experience  shows  us  that  on  the  coasts  of  Ireland  mackerel  are 
taken  nearly  all  the  year  round.     They  are  rarely  very  abundant  on  the  coast 

X 


322  FismNG  in  American  Watees. 

of  Cornwall — although  never  entirely  absent  from  it — much  before  March. 
A  little  later  they  visit  the  coast  of  Devonshire,  appearing  to  approach  the 
land  as  the  season  advances.  At  Lowestoft  and  Yarmouth  the  fishing  season 
is  still  later,  and  is  at  its  height  during  the  months  of  May  and  June,  whilst 
in  the  Frith  of  Forth  June  and  July  are  the  months  when  they  usually  ap- 
pear. In  the  Orkneys  few  fish  are  taken  until  the  last  week  in  July  or  the 
first  in  August. 

"The  mackerel  fanfily  have  an  extended  range,  and  are  found  most  abun- 
dant in  warmer  climes  than  the  British  Isles,  The  Sea  of  Marmora  and  the 
Bosphorus  at  times  literally  swarm  with  them.  It  is  extremely  picturesque 
and  exciting  to  see  the  light  and  graceful  '  caiques'  dancing  like  bubbles 
over  the  clear  blue  sea,  as,  propelled  by  their  lusty  crews,  they  shoot  here  and 
there  amongst  the  circling  nets.  Meantime  the  cunning  old  cormorants,  un- 
dismayed by  the  bustle  and  splashing  water,  ply  their  occupation  most  dili- 
gently. As  they  grow  audacious  from  long-continued  impunity,  they  make  a 
sudden  raid  over  the  corks  into  the  thick  of  the  struggling,  fluttering  fry. 
The  fishermen  shout,  and  by  dint  of  admonitory  pokes,  liberally  administered 
with  the  oar-blades,  the  greedy,  long-necked  throng  are  ignominiously  ex- 
pelled, and  retire  beyond  the  nets,  gobbling  down  at  leisure  their  ill-gotten 
plunder.  Some  idea  of  the  abundance  of  fish  to  be  found  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  and  of  the  immunity  from  persecution  enjoyed  by  these  birds,  may  be 
formed  by  watching  the  countless  thousands  of  them  which  at  times  pass,  in 
apparently  endless  lines,  between  the  Sea  of  Marmora  and  the  Black  Sea.  I 
have  watched  them  for  hours  without  seeing  any  apparent  diminution  in  their 
passing  hosts.  Vast  numbers  of  mackerel  also  frequent  the  coasts  of  the  isl- 
and of  St.  Helena,  where  immense  quantities  can  be  captured.  I  have  taken 
them  with  the  hook  and  line  until  literally  tired  of  hauling  up  and  unhook- 
ing, baiting  with  a  little  strip  of  salt  pork-rind,  and  throwing  biscuit-dust 
overboard  as  an  attraction.  These  fish,  although  of  excellent  flavor,  are 
rarely  more  than  seven  or  eight  inches  long,  and  are  much  like  the  shiners, 
or  young  mackerel,  found  abundantly  on  the  EngHsh  coast  during  the  sum- 
mer months ;  while  in  British  waters,  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  inches  in 
length,  and  two  pounds  in  weight,  is  not  an  unusual  size. 

"Much  importance  appears  in  past  times  to  have  been  attached  to  the 
sale  of  mackerel  in  London,  as  we  find  that  a  law  was  passed  in  the  year 
1698  legahzing  their  being  vended  by  a  'cry'  on  Sunday,  which  custom,  as 
we  know,  still  continues. 

"  There  are  several  modes  by  which  the  capture  of  the  mackerel  is  effected. 
Seines,  or  long  nets  funiished  with  corks  at  the  top  and  leads  at  the  bottom, 
are  dexterously  carried  by  fast  boats  round  the  advancing  shoal  of  fish,  which 
is  inclosed  as  within  a  '  pound. '  The  ends  of  the  net  are  now  secured,  and 
the  fish  either  taken  from  within  the  inclosure  with  a  smaller  net,  or  drawn 
to  the  sm*face  in  the  '  bunts'  or  bags  foimed  in  the  larger  seines,  when  the 
leaping,  struggling  fish  are  dipped  up  literally  by  basketfuls  (by  mep  stationed 
on  the  gunwale  of  the  boat  for  the  purpose)  and  thrown  into  a  compartment 
provided  for  their  reception.  Great  numbers  are  at  times  taken  in  ground 
seines  or  nets,  which,  although  somewhat  like  those  above  described,  are 
smaller,  and  so  arranged  as  to  be  dragged  to  the  beach  with  their  contents. 
'  Trammel'  and  '  drift'  nets  may  be  compared  to  curtains  suspended  in  mid- 
water,  and  are  moored  securely  in  the  places  selected  for  them  by  heavy 
stones  fastened  to  their  ends.  In  them  the  heedless  fish,  not  perceiving  the 
treacherous  web,  dart  their  heads,  become  hopelessly  entangled,  and  are  ulti- 
mately strangled  in  the  meshes. 

"Hook-fishing,  too,  lends  its  aid  in  thinning  the  rainbow  throng.  As  a 
matter  of  sport  and  pastime,  few  pursuits,  I  think,  are  more  thoroughly  en- 


Yielding  Profit  and  Spoet.  323 

joyable  than  *  whiffing'  for  mackerel,  and  the  following  quotation  will  show 
that  others  are  much  of  the  same  way  of  thinking : 

"  '  It  was  evident  the  bay  was  full  of  mackerel ;  in  every  direction,  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  range,  gulls  and  puffins  of  the  St.  Lawrence  were  collected, 
and,  to  judge  from  their  activity  and  clamor,  there  appeared  ample  enjoyment 
for  them  aniongst  the  fry  beneath.  We  immediately  bore  away  from  the 
place  where  the  birds  were  most  numerously  congregated,  and  the  lines  were 
scarcely  overboard  when  we  found  ourselves  in  the  centre  of  a  shoal  of  mack- 
erel. The  hooker,  however,  had  too  much  way.  We  lowered  the  foresail, 
double  reefed  the  mainsail,  and  then  went  steadily  to  work.  Directed  by  the 
movements  of  the  birds,  we  followed  the  mackerel.  Tacking  and  wearing 
the  boat  occasionally  when  we  found  we  had  overrun  the  shoal,  for  two  hours 
we  killed  these  beautiful  fish  as  fast  as  the  baits  could  be  renewed  and  the 
lines  hauled  in,  and  when  we  left  off  fishing,  actually  wearied  with  the  sport, 
we  found  we  had  taken  above  500  pounds.  There  is  not,  on  sea  or  river,  al- 
ways excepting  angling  for  salmon,  any  sport  comparable  to  this  delightful 
amusement.  Full  of  life  and  bustle,  every  thing  about  it  is  animated  and  ex- 
iiilarating. ' " 

Hook-fishing  for  mackerel  is  very  exciting  sport.  A  brisk 
breeze,  sky  mellowed  by  fleecy  clouds,  gulls  swooping  and 
screaming,  every  thing  apparently  in  excitement.  Under 
such  circumstances  and  surroundings,  it  is  not  strange  if  the 
troller,  whiffer,  or  still-baiter  should  inflate  his  lungs  and 
feast  his  soul  until  the  waning  sun  warns  him  to  desist  and 

jtire. 
Excellent  sport  is  sometimes  to  be  had  by  rowing  or  scuU- 

\g  a  boat  into  a  thick  shoal,  and  trolling  for  them  with  feath- 
ered squid,  twirling  spoon,  or  casting  to  them  a  white  artifi- 
^cial  fly. 

Statistics  of  Mackerel  Catches  in  the  States  of  Maine  and  Massachtisetts 
from  1863  to  1867,  and  the  average  wholesale  Prices  per  barrel. 

1864,  Massachusetts 306,000  bbls.         f  18  00  $5,508,000  00 

Maine 100,000     "  18  00  1,800,000  00 

1865,  Massachusetts 300,000  '•  2100  6,300,000  00 

"     Maine 90,000  "  21  00  1,890,000  00 

1866,  Massachusetts 250,000  "  17  00  4,250,000  00 

"     Maine 80,000  "  17  00  1,360,000  00 

1867,  Massachusetts *.....  200,000  "  15  00  3,000,000  00 

"     Maine 70,000  "  15  00  1,050,000  00 

1,396,000     "  $25,158,000  00 


324 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


Scale  of  Inches. 

Hekeing  an©  Pilchard  Family. — 1.  The  Mossbonker,  or  Hard-bead,  Alosa  menhaden 
(very  abundant  on  the  shores  of  Long  Island  and  Mass.  It  is  seldom  eaten).  2. 
The  Pilchard,  Clupea  pilchardus.  3.  The  Anchovy,  Engraulis  engrasicolus.  4.  Amer- 
ican Shad,  Alosa prcestabilis.    5.  The  Herring,  Clupea  harengus. 


SECTION   SECOND. 

No.  4. THE    SHAD. 

By  the  rice-border'd  Southern  coast, 

Where  the  Savannah  River  w^inds, 
The  shad-shoal,  an  unnumher'd  host, 

Its  earliest  feeding  pasture  finds. 
Thence  northward  where  the  Hudson  sweeps 
Connecticut's  transparent  deeps, 
Their  gleaming  myriads  seek  a  home 
Beyoiid  the  surges  and  the  foam. 

The  Shad,  commercially,  is  an  important  fish.  It  winters 
in  the  ocean,  dallies  among  the  nets  in  the  estuaries  during 
spring,  after  which  it  lays  its  ova  in  the  sands  above  tide-wa- 
ter, and  returns  to  salt  water  to  recuperate.  It  is  very  pro- 
lific, yielding  from  a  fourth  to  half  a  million  eggs  annually 
within  the  months  of  April,  May,  and  June.  The  Connecti- 
cut River  is  supposed  to  contain  the  best  shad,  while  those 
of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  are  excellent  fish — vastly  supe- 
rior to  those  of  the  British  Isles,  or  to  the  Alosa  vulgaris^ 
which  is  numerous  in  the  rivers  of  France,  but  so  small  and 
lean  as  never  to  be  seen  on  the  'table  of  an  epicure.  The  av- 
erage weight  of  shad  in  Europe  is  less  than  two  pounds,  while 


Economical  Bkeakfast  Delicacy.  325 

in  America  it  is  double  that  weight.  The  Alosa  Jinta  visits 
some  of  Jthe  waters  in  France  and  Spain,  and  it  is  but  recent- 
ly that  it  has  been  duly  classified  in  France.  The  superiority 
of  American  shad  in  both  size  and  quality  over  those  of  Eu- 
rope is  probably  caused  by  the  purity  of  our  rivers,  and  the 
greater  amount  of  the  kinds  of  food  relished  by  this  tooth- 
less spring  delicacy  of  the  breakfast-table.  It  feeds  on  ani- 
malculae,  and  is  exclusively  caught  with  nets. 

The  shad  season  is  comparatively  short,  but  the  principal 
Northern  markets  are  supplied  with  them  from  Southern  riv- 
ers in  March,  and  sometimes  as  early  as  February.  They  do 
not  enter  the  rivers  of  New  York  and  Connecticut  before  the 
early  part  of  April ;  and  one  of  the  most  peculiar  features  in 
this  family  of  fishes  was  discovered  by  Seth  Green,  while 
hatching  them  by  artificial  means  at  Holyoke,  on  the  Connec- 
ticut River,  where  he  hatched  nearly  one  hundred  millions 
of  shad  in  less  than  six  weeks.  From  the  time  when  he  strip- 
ped the  shad,  and  the  ova  and  milt  settled  in  the  hatching- 
boxes,  not  more  than  thirty-six  hours  elapsed  before  nineteen 
twentieths  of  the  eggs  hatched,  and  the  remainder  within 
twelve  hours  later. 

THE   SHAD   FISHERIES. 

Sixty  days  include  the  shad  season  in  New  York  Bay  and  the  feud- 
son  River,  during  which  time  the  usual  catch  is  1,100,000  fish, 

averaging  each  25  cts.  as  price,  or $275,000 

The  catch  in  Delaware  about  750,000,  25  cts 187,500 

"  Connecticut,  400,000,  30  cts 120,000 

"  Kennebec,  140,000, 15  cts 22,500 

"  Penobscot,  20,000,  20  cts 4,000 

"  North  Carolina,  500,000,  40  cts 200,000 

"  Potomac  and  Chesapeake,  300,000,  20  cts 60,000 

"  Norfolk  and  vicinity,  200,000,  30  cts 60,000 

$949,000 

Although  the  shad  of  Southern  waters  are  inferior  to  those 
of  the  Northern,  yet,  as  the  earliest  in  market,  they  command 
the  price  of  a  rarity.  The  foregoing  wholesale  prices  are 
copied  from  the  books  of  the  most  extensive  dealers  in  Ful- 
ton Market,  New  York.     , 


326  Fishing  in  American  AVatebs. 

SECTION  THIRD.  ^     . 

No.  1. — THE   MOSSBUNKER   OR  MENHADEN. 

On  salt-sea  borders,  sound,  and  bay, 
The  twinkling  spring-time  sunbeams  play, 
And  white  with  froth  the  billows  shine 
Where  the  mossbunkers  lash  the  brine. 
Above  them  flocks  of  sea-gulls  swing. 
Beneath  the  hungry  bluefish  spring, 
And,  deadlier  still,  the  surfmen  strain 
The  oars,  and  mesh  them  with  the  seine. 

The  menhaden  is  a  white  fish,  with  large  scales  of  metallic 
lustre.  It  disports,  during  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  ofi* 
the  coast  and  in  the  estuaries  from  Delaware  to  the  Bay  of 
Passamaquoddy.  It  is  from  nine  to  twelve  inches  long,  and 
in  shape  resembles  a  diminutive  shad,  though  not  so  wide  or 
thin  for  its  length.  It  is  a  very  oily  fish,  very  bony,  and 
therefore  never  eaten  except  by  fishermen,  who  frequently 
salt  it  for  winter  use.     Its  flavor  is  like  that  of  the  shad. 

The  principal  estimate  of  value  put  upon  the  menhaden  is 
for  its  quality  as  the  best  bait  for  attracting  mackerel,  striped 
bass,  bluefish,  and  even  such  of  the  GadidcB  as  the  haddock, 
and  of  the*  Crustacea  as  the  lobster.  It  is  either  ground  or 
chopped  fine  and  cast  upon  the  water  to  attract  mackerel  and 
other  food-fishes  to  the  hook,  while  it  is  the  best  bait  for  lob- 
ster-pots. The  annual  diminution  in  the  numbers  of  mackerel 
taken  within  the  past  five  years — as  shown  by  the  statistics — 
is  justly  attributable  to  the  increase  of  the  manufacture  of 
menhaden  oil.  About  five  years  since  some  person  conceived 
the  brilliant  idea  of  making  oil  from  menhaden  by  grinding 
them  to  a  pulp,  putting  them  under  a  press,  and  squeezing 
out  the  oil.  He  formed  a  company,  which  erected  buildings, 
introduced  machinery,  and  bought  sail-boats  and  nets.  For 
a  couple  of  years,  while  menhaden  were  so  abundant  as  to  be 
used  for  manure  in  some  places  along  the  coast,  the  menhaden 
oil  companies  made  generous  dividends ;  but  no  sooner  did 
this  fact  become  known  among  enterprising  geniuses  than 


Calling  for  Legislation.  32T 

nearly  two  hundred  manufactories  were  put  in  operation,  and 
the  sails  of  menhaden  boats  enlivened  Long  Island  Sound 
throughout  its  length  and  breadth,  their  flocks  of  white  wings 
extending  along  the  Atlantic  shore  for  five  hundred  miles,  as 
if  striving  with  the  numerous  shoals  of  porpoises  to  see  which 
could  do  the  most  harm  to  the  fishing  interest  by  robbing  the 
fishermen  of  the  greatest  amount  of  bait.  But  every  year 
since  the  shoals  of  menhaden  have  decreased  in  number,  so 
that  while  the  fishermen  begin  to  find  the  price  of  bait  op- 
pressive, some  oil  factories  have  been  compelled  to  suspend 
operations.  It  may  be  a  question  worthy  of  attention  by  po- 
litical economists  and  statesmen  whether  menhaden  oil  manu- 
factories should  not  be  taxed  out  of  existence  for  the  injury 
they  are  causing  to  the  public ;  for  the  oil  companies  offer  in- 
ducements which  attract  fishermen  from  their  legitimate  call- 
ing, enhance  the  prices  of  most  kinds  of  food-fishes,  and  thus 
injure  the  public. 

Laws  which  should  adequately  encourage  by  premiums  the 
capture  of  the  black  porpoise  and  the  puffer  would  greatly 
improve  the  coast  fisheries.  This  course  was  deferred  until 
the  porpoises  robbed  some  of  the  rivers  of  Ireland  of  their 
salmon,  by  watching  in  large  shoals  at  the  mouths  of  rivers 
when  the  salmon  were  returning  to  spawn.  Already  the 
black  porpoise — the  most  injurious  to  food-fishes  of  all  the 
mammal  tribes — are  becoming  so  numerous  along  the  coast, 
and  in  the  bays  and  estuaries,  that  the  fishermen  rightly  con- 
sider them  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  the  annual  decrease 
of  striped  bass  and  many  other  excellent  fishes.  The  valua- 
ble oil  of  the  porpoise  would  be  a  sufiicient  reward  for  its  cap- 
ture if  the  fishermen  could  be  so  encouraged  as  to  induce 
them  to  decline  catching  menhaden  for  oil  mills,  and  bring 
their  forces  to  bear  against  the  porpoise,  the  oil  of  which  is 
the  finest  in  the  world  for  jewelers'  use,  and  the  lubrication 
of  all  machinery  requiring  a  fine  and  pure  article. 

By  some,  such  means  as  I  have  hinted  at  the  shoals  of  food- 
fishes  may  be  checked  in  their  eastern  migrations,  and  in- 


328  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

duced  to  forage  in  the  waters  of  the  United  States,  instead 
of  settling  beyond  their  limits. 

MENHADEN   FOR   BAIT. 

The  largest  fleet  engaged  at  catching  menhaden  bait  along 
the  coast  is  at  Gloucester,  Mass.,  where  twenty  fast-sailing 
fishing-smacks  are  engaged  six  months  of  the  year  at  netting 
menhaden,  and  their  annual  sales  of  bait  average  in  amount 
$75,000.  Of  the  pilchard,  No.  2,  and  anchovy,  No.  3,  they  are 
European  fishes ;  but  the  herring,  No.  5,  swarms  along  all  the 
shores  and  inlets  of  the  Atlantic  during  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer months ;  and  whether  it  is  the  want  of  duly  appreciating 
the  fish,  or  because  American  fishermen  have  better  employ- 
ment during  the  season  which  the  herring  visits  our  shores, 
I  know  not,  but  it  does  not  claim  its  proportionate  share  of 
interest  and  attention  among  the  numerous  families  of  Ameri- 
can food-fishes. 

FROZEN   HERRINGS. 

Late  in  autumn  about  fifty  vessels  sail  annually  from  Mas- 
sachusetts to  Newfoundland  for  frozen  herrings.  Their  aver- 
age catch  is  one  hundred  tons  each,  and  their  wholesale  price 
in  the  New  York  markets  is  three  cents  a  pound,  or  $300,000. 

SECTION  FOURTH. 

THE   CODFISH — CATCHING   AND   CURING   IT. 

Far  off  by  stormy  Labrador — 

Far  off  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland, 
Where  angry  seas  incessant  roar, 

And  foggy  mists  their  wings  expand, 
The  fishing-schooners,  black  and  low, 
For  weary  months  sail  to  and  fro  ; 
Seeking  no  home,  no  rest  the  while. 
Till  each  is  freighted  full  with  spoil. 

While  visiting  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John  River,  on  the 
north  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  I  spent  some  time  in 
examining  the  modus  operandi  of  taking  and  dry-curing  cod. 


Industry  of  wokld-wild  Importance.  329 

Fishermen  from  the  isles  of  Guernsey  and  Jersey,  with  those 
from  the  British  American  Provinces,  had  come  from  afar, 
with  their  wives  and  little  ones,  and  early  in  June  settled  in 
log  cabins,  to  remain  during  the  cod-fishing  season,  which, 
they  supposed,  would  continue  until  September,  when,  with 
their  freighted  vessels,  they  would  embark  on  their  perilous 
voyage  for  home  and  a  market.  Their  fleet  numbered  sixty 
sail,  with  a  scull-boat  (in  which  a  sail  might  be  hoisted  in 
case  of  necessity)  for  each  vessel.  This  fleet  employed  also 
two  sail-boats,  with  nets,  to  catch  caplin  for  bait.  Large 
shoals  of  caplin,  smelt,  and  spearing  foraged  about  the  estu- 
ary and  along  the  bay  and  coast,  wisely  intended,  no  doubt, 
as  food  for  salmon,  cod,  and  other  members  of  the  Gadidas, 
family,  besides  the  more  ferocious  monsters  of  the  deeji, 
which  seem  to  stop  at  nothing.  During  my  stay  of  a  week 
among  these  fishermen,  and  from  what  experience  I  before 
enjoyed  with  the  class,  I  am  forced  to  conclude,  with  Victor 
Hugo  and  others  who  have  studied  the  habits  of  men,  and 
deduced  therefrom  theories  for  the  influence  which  their 
avocations  exert  upon  their  dispositions,  that  fishermen  are 
the  most  amiable,  patient,  and  obliging  class  of  men  in  the 
world.  They  are  temperate,  industrious,  frugal,  and  afiec- 
tionate  among  themselves,  and  hospitable  to  strangers. 


The  Codfish. 


The  fleet  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  every  morning,  each  ves- 
sel taking  a  supply  of  bait  as  it  passed  the  caplin-netters, 
when  they  would  come  to  anchor  at  certain  distances  apart 
along  the  Banks,  sometimes  within  a  mile  of  shore,  but  more 
generally  from  five  to  twenty  miles,  always  following  the  fish 


330  FisHESTG  m  Ameeican  Waters. 

as  they  changed  feeding  -  grounds.  On  their  return  in  the 
evening  they  ran  alongside  the  planked  docks,  extending  into 
the  river  from  the  salting  and  packing  houses,  erected  part- 
ly over  the  water.  From  vessels  the  cod  were  pitched  up 
on  the  docks  (with  forks  made  for  the  purpose),  where  they 
were  beheaded,  split,  drawn,  and  cleaned,  then  pitched  into 
the  salting-room,  where  salt  was  rubbed  into  them  for  two 
days,  and  on  the  third  day  they  were  spread  on  the  flakes  to 
dry.  The  "  flakes"  are  tables  of  fir-boughs,  made  by  driving 
forked  stakes  into  the  ground,  then  laying  poles  across,  and 
covering  them  with  boughs  of  the  fir-tree.  These  flakes  were 
two  yards  wide,  three  feet  high,  and  covered  several  acres. 
The  fish,  after  being  salted  two  days,  on  the  third  day  are 
spread  singly  upon  the  flakes  to  dry.  Here  they  are  left  four 
days,  when  they  are  grouped  into  small  piles  on  the  flakes 
of  twenty-five  fish  in  each  pile,  and  left  in  that  condition  two 
days  to  sweat,  when  they  are  again  spread  on  the  flakes  as  at 
first,  and,  after  two  days  more,  are  piled  up  two  days  as  be- 
fore. Then  they  are  gathered  from  the  flakes  and  formed 
into  round  stacks,  their  necks  at  the  outer  edge  of  the  stack, 
which  is  usually  about  five  feet  high,  and  conta'ins  a  ton  of 
fish.  After  leaving  them  a  week  in  stack,  they  again  distrib- 
ute them  on  the  flakes  to  dry,  and  after  another  week  they 
again  stack  them.  They  are  thus  continued  on  the  flakes  or 
in  pack  about  a  month  in  summer,  but  only  half  that  time  in 
autumn,  when  they  are  considered  cured.  The  cod  cured  on 
the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf  are  dried  harder  than  those  on 
the  south  shore  for  the  United  States  market.  Those  cured 
on  the  north  shore  are  generally  sold  in  South  America,  the 
West  Indies,  and  to  ports  in  the  British  Isles. 

The  question  of"  What  luck  have  you  had  ?"  is  more  espe- 
cially applicable  to  fishers  for  the  market  than  to  the  disciple 
of  rod  and  reel ;  for,  without  bait,  a  perilous  voyage  and  a 
whole  season's  labor  produce  nothing  but  disappointment. 
The  caplin,  spearing,  and  smelt  are  sometimes  prevented  by 
rough  weather  from  approaching  waters  where  they  may  be 


An  interesting  Yakiety. 


331 


taken  with  the  seine,  in  which  case  there  is  no  use  of  thinking 
of  substitutes  for  these  baits,  as  the  cod  follow  them  and  for- 
age upon  them  far  away  from  the  ken  of  fishermen,  or  their 
power  to  follow.  Thus  the  career  of  the  fisherman  is  both 
hazardous  and  precarious. 


The  John  Doky. 


332 


Fishing  m  American  Watees. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WHALES— Cfetacea — an  order  of  aquatic  mammals  which  comprises  the  largest  ani- 
mated forms  in  existence :  some  of  the  genera  composing  it  are  phytophagous,  or 
plant-eaters ;  others  are  zoophagous,  or  animal-eaters. 


WHALE  FISHING. 

"  What  though  the  wintry  night  falls  dark, 
And  icy  foes  beset  our  bark, 
And  stiff  our  frozen  rigging  stands, 
Enclasp'd  with  rigid  iron  bands, 
While  sheeted  ice,  like  solid  mail. 
Thickens  each  spar  and  stiifen'd  sail  ? 

Yet  .brave  are  whalemen's  valiant  hearts, 
And  stout  are  whalemen's  hands  ; 

And  strong  the  arm  the  harpoon  darts. 
And  strong  the  arm  that  wields  the  lance, 
When  o'er  the  tides  our  Avhale-boats  glance 

To  battle  with  the  whale. 
Leviathan  may  lash  the  tide, 
But  soon  his  floating,  bleeding  side. 
And  soon  the  spouting  streams  of  gore, 
That  o'er  the  ensanguin'd  waters  pour, 

Declare  that  all  is  o'er. 
Right  soon  the  precious  oil  is  won, 
Our  dangerous  labors  all  are  done, 
And  homeward — homeward  is  the  ciy, 
With  all  sails  spreading  to  the  sky." — Isaac  M'Lellan. 


Spouting  in  favor  of  Gas. 


333 


WHALE    FISHING. 

HALING  is  the  most  ad- 
venturous occupation 
known  within  the  cir- 
cle of  legitimate  in- 
dustry. It  demands 
.  not  only  the  explora- 
tions of  most  danger- 
.  ous  seas,  but  a  resi- 
dence upon  them  dur- 
ing the  most  inclem- 
ent seasons.  For 
many  years  very  lit- 
tle whaling  has  been 
done  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  off  the  coast  of  Labra- 
dor, but  the  whales  are  again  returning  to  their  wonted  feed- 
ing-grounds there,  and  the  walruses  or  sea-cows  nightly  ap- 
proach, and  sometimes  rest  on  the  islands. 

The  Georgia  shoals,  and  banks  near  Newfoundland  gener- 
ally, teem  with  nearly  all  the  fishes  of  the  Northern  seas. 
Fishes  from  afar  visit  those  feeding-grounds,  which  are  form- 
ed into  rich  pastures  by  the  settling  of  the  debris  washed 
down  from  near  the  frigid  zone.  The  heavy  tides  whose 
swift  currents  sweep  around  Scotland  and  Ireland  are  met  by 
counter  tides  and  strong  currents  from  Baffin's  and  Hudson's 
Bays,  and  these  precipitate  vegetable  and  inineral  matters,  in- 
cluding the  drift  of  large  rocks  in  icebergs,  and,  being  assist- 
ed by  the  backing  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  they  have  already  form- 
ed the  island  of  Newfoundland,  the  Fishing  Banks,  and  the 
small  islands  which  dot  those  waters,  all  of  which  will  yet 
rise  into  an  extensive  territory,  connecting  Newfoundland 
with  the  main  land  south  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  The 
waters  of  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  which  form  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal' outlets  to  the  gulf,  are  so  deep,  and  the  rise  and  fall  of 
the  tides  so  great,  that  they  have  contributed  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  island  of  Anticosti,  which  is  larger  than  Xong  Isl- 


334  Fishing  m  American  Waters. 

and,  N.  Y.  With  the  great  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides,  and  the 
consequent  swift  currents,  many  eddies  are  thus  formed,  and 
for  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  south  of  Newfoundland,  and  ex- 
tending to  the  west  end  of  Anticosti,  the  feeding-grounds  for 
food-fishes  form  a  larger  fishing  area  than  any  other  in  the 
world. 

This  meeting  and  mingling  of  the  frosty  Northern  waters 
with  those  more  mild  from  the  Gulf  Stream  are  supposed  to 
form  another  attraction  for  fishes,  and  the  bait-fishes  are  fol- 
lowed thither  by  the  food-fishes,  and  the  latter  by  most  of  the 
voracious  monsters  of  the  deep,  and  thus  procreation  and 
depletion  keep  step  with  supply  and  demand. 

A  voyage  by  schooner  from  the  north  shore  of  the  Gulf, 
and  turning  the  west  end  of  Anticosti  while  bound  for  Gaspe, 
gave  me  some  sights  of  whales  in  spouting  groups  which 
would  be  worth  a  voyage  from  New  York  to  those  waters  to 
witness.  Whales  generally  swim  in  pairs,  unless  they  have 
a  calf,  when  that  swims  between  them  for  protection ;  but  I 
saw  several  groups  at  a  time  of  more  than  three  in  each,  all 
spouting  like  politicians.  Our  tub  of  a  schooner,  which  kept 
"  bidding  and  bobbing"  like  Mrs.  Toodles  at  an  auction,  re- 
minded me  of  the  following  couplet : 

"  When  to  the  wind  we  spread  our  sails, 
Along  the  pathless  ocean  strolling, 
Crammed  in  a  tub  stock  full  of  nails, 
Like  Regulus,  we  die  by  rolling." 

Having  thus  spent  a  few  nights  and  days  on  the  turbulent 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  rising  one  bright  morning  unharmed  in 
our  tub,  which  seemed  cast  to  the  whales,  as  they  surrounded 
us,  we  were  elate  with  joy  at  the  brilliant  display  which  na- 
ture afforded  in  the  bright  heavens,  sparkling  waves,  whales 
spouting  in  every  direction,  the  light-house  looming  on  the 
Isle  of  Anticosti,  and  the  appearance  of  numerous  beautiful 
birds  swimming  about  our  craft,  which  we  learned  were  puf- 
fins, a  species  of  duck  peculiar  to  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence 
near  Anticosti.     These  birds  are  about  the  size  of  a  mallard, 


An  inteeesting  Yoyage.  335 

but  robed  in  scintillant  plumage  of  green  tipped  with  purple, 
and  farther  ornamented  with  a  beak  shaped  like  a  parrot's, 
of  a  bright  vermilion  color. 

As  the  sun  rose  above  the  snowy  peaks  of  Labrador,  the 
sails  slackened,  when  half  a  mile  to  westward  we  saw  slowly 
rise  above  the  waves  a  white  triangular  fin,  then  an  enormous 
head  which  spouted  a  large  shower  of  spray  high  above  the 
waves,  next  a  huge  back,  and  finally  the  enormous  tail  of  a 
monster  double  the  length  of  our  schooner. 

We  were  shocked  at  the  appearance  of  the  monster,  its 
great  size,  and  the  enormous  volume  of  water  it  spouted,  and 
the  wake  and  roaring  splash  which  its  breaking  water  and 
diving  produced.  The  sailors  informed  us  that  it  was  a  sul- 
phur whale,  one  of  the  Mammalia.,  so  vicious  and  powerful 
that  whalers  seldom  or  never  attack  that  species. 

In  the  book  on  ''' Salmon-fishing  in  Canada,^''  by  Colonel 
J^ir  James  E.  Alexander,  author  of  an  important  work  on  ex- 
|)lorations,  he  devotes  a  considerable  space  to  the  once  sup- 
posed phenomenon  of  mirages.  Those  who  have  sailed  near 
the  Mingan  Islands  have  doubtless  observed  the  singular 
forms  assumed  by  objects  at  a  distance,  which  is  caused  by  a 
peculiar  state  of  atmosphere,  and  the  different  degrees  of 
temperature  and  qualities  of  the  waters  intervening  between 
the  beholder  of  the  mirage  and  the  objects  seen  through  it. 
Tlie  peculiar  mirage  along  the  Mingan  Islands  is  supposed  to 
be  caused  by  the  number  of  large  rivers  debouching  in  the 
Gulf  there,  and,  from  their  rapidity,  carrying  waters  a  great 
way  out  on  the  Gulf  which  differ  in  temperature  and  quality 
from  that  upon  which  they  apparently  float  on  the  surface. 

It  is  stated  that  "  the  most  remarkable  mirages  over  wa- 
ter have  occurred  in  straits,"  as  those  seen  by  Mr.  Vance  at 
Dover,  and  the  celebrated  Fata  Morgana  at  Messina.  In 
the  St.  Lawrence  they  present  greater  and  more  interesting 
varieties  of  ocular  deception,  as  at  Bic,  Point  des  Monts,  Min- 
ixan,  and  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle. 

To  return  to  my  subject.    The  sight  of  a  whale-ship  round- 


336  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

ing  the  end  of  Anticosti,  and  several  game-looking  boats  row- 
ing away  from  her,  increased  our  anxiety,  as  the  sailors  said 
that  we  were  in  the  midst  of  numerous  shoals  of  commercial 
whales,  including  the  "fenners"  and  "  hump  -  backs."  The 
white  pectoral  fin  of  the  sulphur  was  seen  to  rise  at  intervals, 
receding  in  distance,  when  all  at  once  two  huge  black  masses 
arose  before  us  and  spouted.  They  proved  to  be  a  mother 
and  her  calf,  of  the  hump-back  family.  Nearer  and  more 
near  approached  the  boats  from  the  whaler ;  and,  after  the 
whales  rose  to  spout,  as  they  descended  the  boats  quickened 
their  speed  toward  where  they  expected  the  next  rise.  This 
was  repeated  several  times,  until  at  last,  just  as  one  of  the 
monsters  rose,  the  man  at  the  bow  of  the  nearest  boat  plunged 
the  harpoon  deep  in  his  body  near  the  heart. 

"  Laugh  at  fear ! 

Plunge  it  deep,  the  barbed  spear ! 
,       Strike  the  lance  in  swift  career ! 

Give  him  Une  I  give  him  line ! 
Down  he  goes  through  the  foaming  brine. " 

The  instant  rush  of  the  infuriated  fish  drew  the  boat  hissing 
through  the  waters  at  a  speed  which  soon  hid  it  from  our 
view,  rendering  the  sight  really  sublime ;  and  when  adding 
that  the  mother  whale  followed,  lashing  the  waves  with  her 
tail  and  leaping  like  a  salmon,  the  reader  may  picture  to  his 
imagination — fishing ! 

The  mother  whale  swam  numerous  times  round  her  calf, 
trying  to  entice  it  seaward  away  from  its  pursuers ;  but  its 
strength  slowly  failing  with  fatigue  and  loss  of  blood,  it  rose 
to  spout.  Then  might  be  seen  the  mother's  tender  solicitude 
for  her  young,  as  she  all  but  caressed  it  and  coaxed  it  to  fol- 
low her  out  of  harm's  way,  and  several  times  persuasively 
swam  a  little  distance,  and  then  returned  to  assist  it. 

The  boatmen  were  meantime  hauling  in  line  and  coiling 
it  carefully  in  a  tub  made  for  the  purpose,  when,  like  light- 
ning, off  the  whale  started  again,  more  rapidly,  apparently, 
than  at  first.     The  mother  cavorted  and  disported  around 


Opinion  of  an  eloquent  Irishman.  337 

lier  young,  as  if  to  bid  it  persist  and  escape  the  wicked  whal- 
ers. But  the  firmly-fixed  harpoon  held  the  young  whale  to 
the  tether,  and  after  several  runs  it  rose  to  the  surface  in  or- 
der to  make  its  last  fight,  to  which  all  previous  efibrts  seemed 
tame.  It  lashed  the  waves  with  a  noise  like  thunder,  and 
the  spray  caused  by  it  and  by  the  leaps  and  writhings  of  the 
agonized  mother  was  carried  more  than  a  mile,  causing  a 
blinding  mist  for  many  rods  around.  Finally,  all  efforts  fail- 
ing, the  young  whale  gave  the  final  shudder  and  was  dead, 
lying  lifeless  on  the  surface.  Then  went  up  the  shouts  of  the 
boatmen,  in  which  we  joined ;  but  a  hauser,  lashed  to  the 
tail  of  the  dead  whale,  enabled  the  crews  to  float  it  slowly 
toward  the  whale-ship,  which  had  drawn  near.  But  the  moth- 
er whale  continued  to  lash  the  waters,  as  with  snorting  and 
blowing  she  evinced  signs  of  fury  until  long  after  the  blub- 
ber-spades had  dissected  much  of  the  body,  and  a  sea  of  blood 
Hurrounded  the  ship. 

I  will  conclude  this  chapter  with  the  eloquent  peroration 
of  the  gifted  Burke,  made  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1774 : 
"  As  to  the  wealth  which  the  colonists  have  drawn  from  the 
sea  by  their  fisheries,  you  had  that  matter  fully  opened  at 
your  bar.  You  surely  thought  these  acquisitions  of  value, 
for  they  seemed  to  excite  your  envy ;  and  yet  the  spirit  by 
which  that  enterprising  employment  has  been  exercised  ought 
rather,  in  my  opinion,  to  have  raised  esteem  and  admiration. 
And  pray,  sir,  what  in  the  world  is  equal  to  it  ?  Pass  by  the 
other  parts,  and  look  at  the  manner  in  which  the  New  En- 
gland people  carry  on  the  whale  fishery.  While  we  follow 
them  among  the  tumbling  mountains  of  ice,  and  behold  them 
penetrating  into  the  deepest  frozen  recesses  of  Hudson's  Bay 
■  and  Davis's  Straits  ;  while  we  are  looking  for  them  beneath 
M  the  arctic  circle,  we  hear  that  they  have  pierced  into  the  op- 
■fcposite  region  of  polar  cold — that  they  are  at  the  antipodes, 
^■And  engaged  under  the  frozen  serpent  of  the  south.  Falk- 
^Hiand  Island,  which  seemed  too  remote  and  too  romantic  an 
^■abject  for  the  grasp  of  national  ambition,  is  but  a  stage  and 

I 


338  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

resting-place  for  their  victorious  industry.  Nor  is  the  equi- 
noctial heat  more  discouraging  to  them  than  the  accumulated 
winter  of  both  poles.  We  learn  that  while  some  of  them 
draw  the  line  or  strike  the  harpoon  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
others  run  the  longitude  and  pursue  their  gigantic  game 
along  the  coast  of  Brazil.  No  sea  but  what  is  vexed  with 
their  fisheries — no  climate  that  is  not  witness  of  their  toils. 
Neither  the  perseverance  of  Holland,  nor  the  activity  of 
France,  nor  the  dexterous  and  firm  sagacity  of  English  enter- 
prise, ever  carried  this  most  perilous  mode  of  hardy  industry 
to  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been  pursued  by  this  recent 
people — a  people  who  are  still  in  the  gristle,  and  not  harden- 
ed into  manhood." 

THE   striped   red   MULLET. 

The  striped  red  mullet,  a  beautiful  fish  of  a  pale  pink  col- 
or, but  somewhat  larger  than  the  one  known  to  the  Romans, 
is  found  in  considerable  numbers  on  the  English  coasts.  The 
mullets,  like  the  cod  and  some  other  fish  which  feed  in  deep 
water,  are  furnished  with  long  feelers  attached  to  the  lower 
jaw,  supposed  to  be  delicate  organs  of  touch,  by  which  these 
fish  are  enabled  to  select  their  food  on  the  muddy  bottoms. 
This  fish  is  more  gamy  than  the  golden  mullet  of  the  Ameri- 
can borders  of  the  Atlantic,  but  it  is  vastly  inferior  for  the 
table. 


Striped  Red  Mullet. — Mullus  surmuletus. 


The  Coast  Industries. 


339 


CHAPTER  W. 
SALT-WATER  FISHERIES. 

COD-LIVER  OIL. 

^   Maine  and  Massachusetts 
make    annually    about 
5000  bbls.  common  oil, 
such  as  is  generally  used 
for  tanning  purposes,  or 
150,000  gals.,  at  80  cts.$120,000  00 
200  bbls.  superior  oil,  used 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^       for  medical    purposes, 
^  I '  i^f'j'^^^^^^^^^^^^^p       ^^^  made  at  Gloucester 
1 1  v\V3  f^^^^^^^^^S       and Rockport,  6000  gal- 
lons, at  $1  50 $9,000  00 

TONGUES  AND  SOUNDS. 

The  yearly  catch  of  Glouces- 
ter vessels  averages  1000 
bbls.,  at  $8 $8,000  00 

dried  codfish. 
Massachusetts.  The  av- 
erage annual  make  is 

350,000  quintals,  at  $6 $2,100,000  00 

Maine.  The  average  annual  make  is  200,000  quintals,  at  $6..  l,200,00aoo 

$3,300,000  00 
halibut  fishery. 
Halibut  caught  by  vessels  of  Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  aver- 
age annually,  for  five  years  past,  10,000,000  lbs.,  at  10  cts.. $1,000,000  00 

Yearly  catch  by  Boston  vessels,  2,500,000  lbs.,  at  10  cts 250,000  00 

$1,250,000  00 

SMOKING   SALMON   AND   HALIBUT. 

One  Boston  Ifouse  smokes  10,000  bbls.  annually,  at  the  average 

price  per  bbl.  of  $38 .$380,000  00 

Do.,  10,000  bbls.,  at  $10 100,000  00 

Do.,  13,000  quintals*  of  smoked  halibut,  9  cts.  per  lb 131,040  00 

$611,040  00 

THE   EASTPORT  FISHERY. 

Fish  caught  and  cured  in  the  vicinity  of  Eastport,  Maine : 

30,000  boxes  smoked  herrings,  40  cts $12,000  00 

'  A  qnlDtal  is  112  lbs. 


340  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Brought  forward $12,000  00 

1500  bbls.  herring  oil,  $30 45,000  00 

8000  quintals  dried  cod,  $3 24,000  00 

20,000  quintals  dried  pollock,  $2 40,000  00 

10,000       "  "     hakes,  $150 15,000  00 

500  bbls.  liver  oil,  $30 15,000  00 

3000  bbls.  pickled  cod,  $4 12,000  00 

5700    "         "        herrings,  $4 22,800  00 

1200    "         "        mackerel,  $15 18,000  00 

500      "         "        haddock,  $2  50 1,250  00 

$205,050  00 

The  foregoing  statement  is  made  by  Captain  S.  Treat,  of 
Eastport,  and  is  an  average  annual  catch  for  the  past  five 
years  to  1868. 

WHOLESALE    FISH   DEPARTMENT    OF   FULTON  MARKET. 

This  includes  fourteen  establishments  confined  to  the  pur- 
chase and  sale  of  food-fishes.  The  average  annual  sales 
by  each  is  $150,000.     Aggregate $2,100,000  ©0 

In  addition  to  these  sales,  they  employ  one  hundred  and  eleven 
fishing-smacks,  the  average  annual  catches  by  each  amount- 
ing to  $12,000,  or  an  aggregate  of. 1,332,000  00 

$3,432,000  00 

SCOLLOPS. 

The  trade  in  scollops  is  annually  increasing,  but,  like  the  other 
vast  water-fields  of  Crustacea,  the  business  is  still  embryotic 
and  the  trade  undeveloped.  East  Greenwich,  K.  I.,  sup- 
plies 100  gallons  daily  for  half  the  year,  or  18,200  gallons 
at75  cents 13,650  00 

Southport,  Matatuck,  Cutchogue,  and  Jamesport,  on  Long  Isl- 
and, supply  in  the  aggregate  six  months  18,200  gallons  at 

75  cents ; 13,650  00 

$27,300  00 

SOFT-SHELL   CLAMS. 

Comstock  &  Co.,  of  Fulton  Market,  sold  last  j^ear  3,250,000  for  $8000.    It 

is  estimated  that  this  is  about  one  sixth  of  the  aggregate  annual  sale  in 

•     the  United  States,  which  would  render  the  sum  total .*. .  .$48,000  00 

I  could  not  get  an  estimate  on  the  business  done  in  hard 
clams,  though  it  is  nearly  or  quite  as  large  as  that  in  soft 
shells. 

SMELTS. 

Trade  in  smelts  is  confined  to  six  months,  or  to  the  inclement 
season  of  the  year,  for  which  time  the  sales  in  Fulton  Mar- 
ket averaged  1,352,000  at  16  cents $216,320  00 


I 


A  Chesapeake  Industry.         841 

SALMON,  FRESH   AND  SALTED. 

One  Boston  house  sells  annually  10,000  bbls.  salmon,  the  fresh 
and  salted  fish  averaging  per  bbl.  $38 $380,000  00 

100,000  bbls.  herrings,  cured  and  smoked  in  the  manner  of  Yar- 
mouth bloaters,  $10  per  bbl 1,000,000  00 

THE   OTSTEB   INDUSTRY. 

Of  the  delicious  bivalve  which  "gets  out  of  bed  to  be  tucked  in,"dt  is  impos- 
sible to  arrive  at  an  appropriate  estimate  of  all  which  are  canned  for  the 
interior  trade,  and  those  sold  in  the  shell  for  consumption  in  the  Atlantic 
States ;  but  of  the  trade  from  Virginia  to  Massachusetts,  it  is  computed 
by  the  largest  dealers  in  the  industry  that  about  50,000,000  bushels  are  an- 
nually sold  at  50  cents  per  bushel $25,000,000  00 

The  following,  copied  from  the  Baltimore  report  of  the  in- 
dustry in  that  single  city  for  the  past  year,  may  give  some 
idea  of  the  importance  of  this  crustaceous  bivalve :  • 

OYSTERS  AND  CANNED  GOODS. 

"  This  trade  has  been  m  fair  activity  throughout  the  year.  The  number  of 
houses  prosecuting  it  now  reaches  about  seventy-three,  of  which  some  forty 
are  strictly  in  the  packing  trade.  The  hands  employed  equal  probably  5000 
of  both  sexes  in  the  various  departments  of  shucking,  packing,  peeling,  pre- 
serving, etc.  Six  to  eight  million  bushels  of  oysters  are  consumed,  one  third 
of  which  are  packed  raw,  and  the  balance  hermetically  sealed.  The  cans  re- 
quired for  these  reach  about  3,000,000  to  4,000,000  of  half  to  one  gallon 
each,  and  require  say  300,000  cases  to  pack  them.  The  balance  of  the  oys- 
ters, say  some  4,000,000  bushels,  are  put  up  in  hermetically  sealed  cans  of  1, 
2,  and  3  pounds  each,  of  which  during  the  active  season  some  80  to  100, 00() 
cans  are  daily  packed,  so  that  some  12  to  16,000,000  of  cans  are  required  for 
this  trade  annually.  It  is  estimated  that  some  $14,000,000  to  $16,000,000 
are  invested  in  this  interest  in  and  around  Baltimore,  and  that  the  annual 
product  is  worth  some  $6,000,000  to  $7,000,000. 

The  number  of  vessels  said  to  be  engaged  in  that  business 
on  the  Chesapeake  is  over  1600,  which  give  employment  to 
more  than  6000  persons.  Had  the  trade  to  California  contin- 
ued, the  industry  would  have  been  greatly  augmented ;  but 
in  that  land  of  abundance  fishes  of  nearly  all  kinds  are  more 
numerous  than  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  so  that  there  salmon  is 
too  common  for  food,  and  the  sardine  canning  industry  bids 
fair  to  supersede  that  of  the  Mediterranean. 


342  Fishing  in  American  "Waters. 


THE    CHESAPEAKE    BAY   FISHERY. 

By  the  following  estimate,  made  by  Messrs.  Monroe  & 
Gremeny,  of  Alexandria — the  largest  fishery  firm  in  the  South 
— I  am  informed  that  25,000,000  herrings  are  caught  in  about 
six  weeks,  and  5,000,000  shad  are  taken  in  the  mean  time, 
being  in  March  and  April.  These  are  caught  by  from  20  to 
25  shad  fisheries,  giving  employment  to  about  1000  men  and 
from  75  to  100  vessels.  Of  course,  those  include  the  fisheries 
along  the  Chesapeake,  in  both  the  states  of  Maryland  and 
Virginia ;  yet  I  prefer  to  submit  those  samples  of  individual 
enterprise  to  the  state  or  national  reports,  because  they  tell 
what  may  be  done  by  showing  what  is  being  done  by  indi- 
vidual industry,  instead  of  trying  to  deduce  from  the  aggre- 
gate estimates  in  elaborate  national  or  state  reports  what 
proportion  of  the  income  of  all  the  states  is  derived  frofn 
their  fisheries ;  whereas  these  are  confined  to  a  small  portion 
of  our  borders,  and  comparatively  few  men  and  small  means 
are  employed  in  them. 

HADDOCKS. 

The  sale  of^^Jinnan  haddies'^  per  diem  for  six  months  of  the  year  in 

New  York  averages  1000  lbs.,  at  10  cents '. |100  00 

Boston,  2000  lbs 200  00 

Portland,  1500  lbs 150  00 

|450  00 
Thus  amounting  in  six  months  for  those  three  cities  to $81,900  00 

It  is  stated  by  competent  authority  that  3000  lbs.  of  "^?^- 
nan  haddies'''  per  day  for  six  months  in  the  year  are  cured  in 
Portland,  Maine,  and  that  more  than  half  of  them  are  sold  in 
the  Dominion  of  Canada.  It  is  becoming  so  large  an  indus- 
try in  the  United  States  that  a  brief  account  of  its  origin  may 
prove  interesting. 

FINDON   HADDOCKS. 

The  luxury  known  as  "  finnan  haddies"  was  first  cured  at 
Findon,  near  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland.     I  can  not  learn  when 


I 


Yankee  Invention  of  Dey-feeezing.  343 

the  industry  was  begun,  but  am  informed  that  it  was  such  a 
favorite  dish  with  George  IV.  that  it  was  constantly  on  his 
breakfast-table  during  the  winter. 

The  curing  of  haddocks  by  moderately  salting  them  and 
then  smoking  them  over  a  smudge  made  of  smothered  peat 
was  an  invention  of  some  pretty  Scotch  woman  with — like 
most  of  her  countrymen  of  both  sexes — more  brains  and  loy- 
alty than  money.  She  was,  withal,  a  woman  with  an  excel- 
lent goilt^  as  her  invention  proved ;  for  she  had  not  followed 
the  business  long  before  many  persons  usurped  her  invention, 
and,  instead  of  smoking  them  over  the  pure  peat-reek  fires, 
they  used  green  wood  of  any  kind  that  would  make  a  smoke. 
Thus  the  Findon  haddocks  lost  favor  in  some  quarters ;  yet, 
poor  as  it  was  made  by  bad  smoking,  there  was  still  left  a  de- 
gree of  delicacy,  and  the  flavor  was  still  so  much  admired  as 
to  divide  the  interest  with  the  Yarmouth  bloater  as  a  break- 
fast-fish. Finally,  as  the  "  schoolmaster  abroad"  ascertained 
that  the  waters  on  our  Eastern  coast  teem  with  haddocks,  he 
intimated  their  value  as  a  breakfast  luxury,  when  several  mem- 
bers of  Brother  Jonathan's  family  were  not  long  in  seeing  the 
point  of  interest  in  the  question.  The  result  is  that,  within 
the  past  five  years,  no  industry  has  grown  faster,  according  to 
its  pasture  of  short  capital,  than  has  the  manufacture  and 
trade  in  Findon  haddocks,  the  annual  amount  of  which  in  the 
United  States  is  not  much  short  of  half  a  million  of  dollars. 

PRESERVING  EOOD-FISHES   FRESH. 

The  Yankee  invention  for  refrigerating  salmon  in  an  at- 
mosphere of  such  a  degree  of  cold  as  is  desired,  and  from 
which  all  dampness  is  excluded,  has  greatly  increased  the 
amount  of  consumption  of  fresh  salmon  in  the  border  cities 
of  the  United  States  within  the  past  three  years.  Already 
the  Canadians  are  profiting  by  an  invention  which  their  prox- 
imity to  salmon-waters  renders  of  immense  utility  to  them. 
This  invention  requires  to  be  used  when  the  fish  are  entirely 

esh,  and  have  not  been  much  handled.     It  consists  simply 


S44:  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

in  placing  the  fish  in  the  dry  refrigerator  the  day  that  they 
are  caught,  and  the  sooner  after  they  leave  the  aqueous  ele- 
ment the  better.  Already  the  refrigerating  process  is  in  op- 
eration on  railroads  for  the  transmission  of  meats,  fish,  and 
fruits. 

Of  numerous  other  fishes  than  the  salmon  which  are  sold 
in  a  fresh  condition,  no  reliable  estimate  can  be  made.  They 
include  thousands  of  tons  of  striped  bass,  cero,  bonita,  Span- 
ish mackerel,  sea  bass,  blackfish,  squeteague,  sheepshead,  eels, 
flounders,  flukes,  crabs,  lobsters,  and  several  other  kinds  of 
coast  and  estuary  fishes.  It  is,  however,  safe  to  state  that 
they  include  more  than  half  the  number  of  pounds  offish  con- 
sumed by  the  inhabitants  of  the  states  on  the  Atlantic  border, 
and  amounting  annually  to  a  value  of  many  millions  of  dol- 
lars. Throughout  winter  the  netting  of  striped  bass  is  pur- 
sued along  the  shores  of  bays,  sounds,  and  as  far  up  the  Hud- 
son River  as  Peekskill,  taking  them  at  the  latter  place  from 
under  the  ice.     This  practice  should  be  inhibited  by  law. 

Those  who  feel  interested  in  the  commerce  of  fishes  will 
please  excuse  me  for  not  condensing  the  statements  by  reca- 
pitulation. The  few  examples  which  I  have  submitted  of  the 
industry  have  been  those  of  individual  enterprise  in  a  busi- 
ness which  is  destined  soon  to  become  one  among  the  leading 
industries  of  the  nation. 


1 


|)art    JourtI). 


ANCIENT  AND  MODEEN  FISH-CULTUKE. 


I 


CHAPTER  I. 


.    THE  ART  AMONG  THE  ANCIENTS. 

MONG  the  many  arts 
founded  on  pure  phi- 
losophy peculiar  to 
China,  we  find  that 
of  propagating  fishes 
by  artificial  means  to 
have  been  practiced 
there  for  many  cen- 
turies, as  is  proven 
by  their  works,  and 
the  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  art  pos- 
sessed by  so  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Celestial  Empire. 

Father  Duhalde,  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries  from 
France  to  China,  was  the  first  to  reveal  to  the  Christian 
world  that  the  inhabitants  of  China  might  teach  those  of 
Europe  the  art  of  water  -  farming.  "In  the  great  River 
Yang  -  tse  -  kiang,"  said  Father  Duhalde,  "  not  far  from  the 
city  Kieou-king-fou,  of  the  province  Kiang-si,  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year  there  assemble  great  numbers  of  vessels  for 
conveying  away  the  fecundated  eggs  of  fishes.  Throughout 
the  month  of  May  the  river  is  barred  at  short  intervals  for 
sixty  miles  with  interlacings  of  osier  and  bulrushes,  leaving 
barely  sufficient  space  for  the  passage  of  barks  or  double 
^^  chaloupes^  with  lateen  sails,  which  are  engaged  in  transport- 
^^ting  ova."     The  reticulated  weirs  of  osier  and  bulrushes  are 


348  FiSHLNG  IN  Amekican  Waters. 

knows  how  to  distinguish  them  with  the  naked  eye  when  nn- 
practiced  ones  perceive  nothing  in  the  water.  He  therefore 
dips  up  the  water  with  a  mixture  of  impregnated  ova,  whicli 
many  purchase  in  that  condition,  while  he  dips  and  fills  vases 
for  others  who  purchase  the  fishes  when  first  hatched.  Peo- 
ple are  said  to  come  from  all  parts  of  the  empire  for  the 
purchase  of  both  eggs  and  fish  wherewith  to  stock  the  waters 
of  their  various  districts. 

Great  care  is  bestowed  on  the  vivified  eggs  placed  in  the 
vases,  and  those  having  them  in  charge  take  turns  in  attend- 
ing to  them,  so  that  they  are  never  neglected  either  night  or 
day.  .  At  the  end  of  some  days,  as  the  eggs  disclose  life,  the 
difierent  species  are  removed  into  separate  vases,  and  their 
prices  fixed  and  published.  Father  Duhalde  stated  that  the 
nett  gain  was  often  a  hundred  fold  on  the  expense,  and  the 
sale  always  certain,  because  fishes  constitute  a  large  share  of 
the  food  of  the  Chinese. 

Many  travelers  from  time  to  time  referred  to  this  practice 
of  the  Chinese  in  propagating  fishes,  but  their  explanations 
were  always  more  or  less  vague.  Father  Hue,  the  mission- 
ary, informed  the  French  government  that  a  great  many  mer- 
chants of  vivified  fish-eggs  came  to  the  province  of  Canton, 
and  traversed  the  country  for  the  sale  of  them  to  the  propri- 
etors of  ponds  and  other  preserved  waters.  Their  merchan- 
dise, being  a  sort  of  yellowish  liquid,  was  contained  in  a  cask. 
It  appeared  to  be  oily  water,  similar  to  the  color  of  the  vase 
(probably  terra-cotta),  in  which  it  was  impossible  to  distin- 
guish with  the  naked  eye  the  least  animalcula  or  living  thing. 
For  some  saf^ques — small  coin — they  purchase  a  cup  of  that 
turbid  water,  which  is  sufiicient  to  stock  a  pond  of  consider- 
able size.  They  pour  the  contents  of  the  cup  into  the  pond 
or  lake,  and  in  a  few  days  the  eggs  hatch,  and  by  having 
their  preserves  properly  divided  they  keep  up  their  stock  of 
fish.  For  the  young  fishes  of  the  herbivorous  families,  such 
as  the  cai-p,  etc.,  they  throw  into  the  pond  tendei*  herbs  for 
food,  augmenting  the  quantity  as  the  fish  enlarge.     Carnivor- 


Growth  of  Heebivorous  Fishes.  .      349 

ous  fishes  require  some  kind  of  meat,  or  a  mixture  in  which 
meat  or  ofial  forms  a  part. 

The  fishes  are  fed  in  the  morning  and  evening  of  each  day, 
and,  as  they  grow  very  fast,  it  becomes  quite  "  a  chore"  for 
the  boys  and  girls  to  gather  them  enough  herbage,  for  they 
:ire  so  ravenous  as  to  be  appropriately  compared  to  the  silk- 
worms when  forming  cocoons.  With  generous  feeding  they 
attain  to  the  weight  of  two  or  three  pounds  in  fifteen  days, 
when  they  cease  growing,  and  are  sold  alive  throughout  the 
great  centres  of  population. 

The  fish-culturists  of  Kiang-si  I'aise  uniquely  fishes  of  a 
fjoiXt  most  exquisite.  The  sea-rabbit  is  the  name  given  by 
them  to  a  species  at  once  the  most  delicate  and  prolific. 

Fish-culture,  or  pisciculture,  seems  natural  to  the  Chinese, 
who  conduct  the  industry  skillfully  and  successfully,  culti- 
vating numerous  species  of  herbivorous  fishes,  which  they 
raise  with  great  facility.  Herbivorous  fishes  acclimatize 
much  easier  than  the  carnivorous.  The  French  and  other 
P]uropeans  have  commenced  to  import  herbivorous  fishes  from 
Kiang-si ;  the  red  and  gold  fishes,  originally  imported*  from 
China,  may  be  considered  a  luxury  to  the  eye,  and  their  sur- 
prisingly rapid  increase  in  numbers  without  expense  has  in- 
duced the  French  to  import  such  food-fishes  as  are  prolific 
and  of  excellent  flavor.  The  fresh-water  fishes  of  commerce 
in  China  form  much  lighter  and  more  digestible  food  than 
any  fresh-water  fishes  of  either  Europe  or  America.  They 
have  cultivated  their  waters,  and  raised  fishes  for  so  many 
hundred  years,  and  perhaps  thousands,  that  their  system  is 
said  to  be  much  more  perfect  than  any  now  practiced  in  Eu- 
rope or  America ;  and  as  France  has  sent  an  agent  to  China 
to  study  up  the  subject  from  an  Oriental  point  of  view,  it 
might  be  advisable  for  our  government  to  instruct  its  embas- 
sadors to  make  all  the  discoveries  possible,  and  report  them 
for  the  benefit  of  fish-culture  in  the  United  States. 


350     .  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 


CHAPTER  n. 
FISH-CULTURE  IN  EUROPE  IN  EARLY  TIMES. 

The  date  when  fish-culture  was  commenced  in  Europe  is 
not  definitely  known.  Its  introduction  there  is  generally  at- 
tributed to  the  Komans,  among  whom,  it  is  stated  by  several 
writers,  the  art  approached  a  remarkable  degree  of  perfec- 
tion. It  is  known  to  the  student  of  antique  inventions  that, 
in  the  palmy  days  of  ancient  Rome,  great  attention  was  paid 
to  aqudculture,  and,  by  means  of  canals  cut  from  the  sea  and 
the  Bay  of  Naples  to  the  ornamental  lakes  and  ponds  of  the 
wealthy  patricians,  eminently  those  at  Tusculum,  and  at  oth- 
er villas  near  BaiaB,  the  fishes  of  the  sea  were  invited  by  men 
of  taste  to  spawn  in  their  preserves,  which  they  did  in  great 
numbers,  as  is  related  by  Duval  in  respect  to  the  extensive 
preserves  of  Lucullus. '  But  after  the  spawning  season,  and 
when  the  spent  fishes  sought  a  return  to  the  sea,  they  were 
intercepted  by  wicker  weirs  or  wire  gates,  and  there  cap- 
tured and  sold  in  the  market !  This  last  fact  is  sufiicient  ev- 
idence to  prove  to  the  modern  angler  or  fish-culturist  that 
the  Romans  knew  little  of  the  nature  and  habits  of  fish,  or 
they  would  not  have  purchased  spent  fish,  which  is  unwhole- 
some food. 

But  in  the  evidence  adduced  thus  far  we  see  nothing  to 
warrant  the  belief  that  the  ancient  Romans  hatched  fishes  by 
the  modern  means  of  mingling  the  roe  and  milt  of  fishes,  and 
placing  them  in  a  situation  to  be  hatched.  They  did  no  more 
than  invite  or  conduct  fish  from  the  sea  to  fresh-water  feed- 
ing-grounds and  spawning  -  beds.  The  Chinese  had  done 
more,  for  they  divided  rivers  into  spawning-beds,  and  before 
the  spawn  was  hatched  they  removed  it  to  hatching-vases. 

Among  the  articles  exhumed  from  Pompeii  and  Hercula- 


Co:\rMENCEMENT  OF  Oyster-culture.  351 

neum,  stored  in  the  Treasury  at  N"aples,  I  saw  a  glass  vase  of 
fish-eggs  similar  to  those  of  the  genus  Salmo.  Those  eggs 
and  their  mode  of  preservation  induced  me  to  believe  that  a 
higher  class  of  men  inhabited  Italy  seventeen  hundred  years 
ago  than  do  now  in  this  iron  age  of  intelligence.  Is  it  not 
true  that  aggregations  of  high  intellects — like  celestial  nebu- 
lae, or  the  focal  coruscation  of  rays  of  light  and  heat — cluster 
at  diiferent  times  on  difierent  parts  of  the  earth,  to  reflect  in- 
tellectual light  to  guide  coming  generations  ? 

Well,  it  is  stated  that  the  inventions  in  ancient  Rome,  first 
devised  to  pamper  the  children  of  luxury,  afterward  were 
employed  to  supply  subsistence  to  the  nation.  Des'viviers 
having  stocked  their  preserves  with  many  ornamental  fishes, 
whose  graceful  gambols,  beautiful  forms,  and  colors  chatoy- 
antes  had  delighted  the  ladies  of  that  interesting  period,  did 
not  disdain  to  encourage  the  increase  of  food-fishes  also,  with 
which  their  preserves  were  richly  stocked. 

But,  if  the  Romans  did  not  hatch  fishes  artificially,  that 
they  excelled  in  the  cultivation  of  Crustacea  can  not  be  suc- 
cessfully refuted.  The  removal  of  oysters  from  one  water 
and  planting  them  in  another  was  begun  by  Sergius  Grata  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  by  bringing  them 
from  Brindisium  and  planting  them  in  Lake  Lucrin,  which, 
according  to  the  evidence  of  the  gourmet  chief  Crassus, 
greatly  improved  their  flavor.  Grata  finally  covered  Lake 
Lucrin  with  reticulated  paraphernalia  made  of  wood,  raised 
at  one  end  on  stone  piers,  and  placed  in  numerous  positions 
for  the  convenience  of  the  deposit  of  oyster-spat.  The  Lake 
of  Fusaro  also,  between  the  ruins  of  Cumae  and  the  promon- 
tory of  Misenum — "the  Avernus  of  the  ancients" — being  salt, 
was  planted  with  oysters;  and  the  plans  for  oyster  culture 
adopted  by  the  Romans  were  quite  similar  to  those  pursued 
in  France  at  present. 

My  investigations  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  fish-culture 
by  the  method  of  stripping  the  ova  from  the  female  and  the 
milt  from  the  male  fish,  and  mixing  them  for  vivification,  in- 


352  Fishing  IN  American  Waters. 

duces  me  to  impute  its  origin  to  the  monks — those  men  of 
genius  who  invented  eau  da  vie — and  who  were  ever  engaged 
in  investigations  for  ameliorating  the  wants  of  mankind. 
They  found  the  waters  idle,  while  the  needs  of  the  Church 
demanded  that  they  should  produce.  They  therefore  ap- 
plied themselves  to  the  study  of  cultivating  the  waters,  and 
in  the  fourteenth  century  —  according  to  Baron  Montgau- 
dry,  nephew  to  Buffon — Dom  Pinchion,  abbe  of  Beome,  had 
discovered  the  plan  of  hatching  fishes  in  boxes,  the  process 
described  being  quite  similar  to  that  now  employed.  The 
needs  of  the  monastic  orders  for  complying  with  the  require- 
ments imposed  by  their  religion  may  be  justly  considered  the 
motive  cause  which  urged  to  this  great  discovery ;  and  the 
monks  not  only  cultivated  the  waters,  but  they  left  records 
of  their  progress,  and  gave  us  their  opinion  that  the  carp  is 
the  most  profitable  fish  to  propagate,  and  next  in  order  is 
the  tench.  The  pike  is  considered  very  useful  to  prevent 
the  excessive  multiplication  of  carps,  for  otherwise  they  soon 
become  too  numerous  for  their  healthy  condition  in  a  pond. 

At  divers  epochs  the  idea  prevailed  of  introducing  certain 
fishes  into  barren  waters.  The  Lake  Lovitel,  in  the  depart- 
ment of  i'isere,  never  nourished  a£sh  before  1670,  when  M. 
Garden  placed  trout  in  the  lake,  and  they  multiplied  so  that 
the  lake  has  remained  stocked  with  them  ever  since. 

Lapecherie  of  Comachio,  on  the  Adriatic,  is  of  very  ancient 
origin.  Bonaveri,  and,  more  recently,  Spallanzani,  professor 
in  Reggio,  Modena,  and  Pavia,  have  described  the  very  exten- 
sive eel-fisheries  there.  In  spring,  when  the  eels  ascend  the 
rivers,  the  fish-farmers  open  communications  from  the  basins 
to  the  lagunes  of  the  sea,  and  the  young  eels  penetrate  in 
great  masses  through  all  the  free  passes.  Retained  in  the 
basins,  where  they  find  nourishment  abundant,  they  grow 
rapidly.  At  the  time  when  their  instinct  teaches  them  to 
descend  to  the  sea,  the  fish-farmers  lead  them  by  small  artifi- 
cial brooks  whereby  they  are  conducted  into  chambers  from 
which  they  have  no  power  to  escape,  and  hundreds  of  thou- 


Cultivate  Eels  and  Frogs.  353 

sands  of  eels  are  thus  annually  gathered  and  cured  for  mar- 
ket, because  there  is  a  greater  number  of  fresh  eels  than  is 
necessary  to  supply  the  markets  of  Italy. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  decade  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury the  brilliant  discoveries  of  Spallanzani  enriched  the  nat- 
ural sciences,  and  proved  beyond  reasonable  doubt  the  possi- 
bility of  developing  the  mysteries  which  theorists  had  from 
time  to  time  mooted,  of  impregnating  the  eggs  of  fishes  arti- 
ficially. He  therefore  took  eggs  of  a  frog,  and  impregnated 
them  with  the  semen  of  a  male  frog.  This  he  did  before  nu- 
merous witnesses,  who  saw  the  live  frogs,  and  saw  that  from 
these  eggs  young  frogs  were  hatched,  and  the  triumph  of  the 
illustrious  Italian  naturalist  was  thus  rendered  complete. 

In  1763  Lieut.  Jacobi  announced  through  a  journal  of  Han- 
over the  feasibility  of  the  artificial  fecundation  of  salmon 
and  trout.  Before,  however,  publishing  his  successful  exper- 
iments, he  endeavored  to  promulgate  his  discovery  through 
the  medium  of  celebrated  naturalists,  such  as  Buifon,De  Four- 
croy,  and  Gleditch,  an  eminent  professor  of  Germany.  "Les 
savants"  of  France  appeared  too  much  preoccupied  to  notice 
the  Hanoverian  lieutenant,  especially  as  his  writings  were  in 
German.  Gleditch,  who  was  not  influenced  by  the  same  rea- 
sons, appeared  impressed  with  the  work  of  Jacobi,  and  he  com- 
municated extracts  from  the  work  to  the  Academy  of  Berlin 
through  Baron  Von  Harbke. 

In  France  the  experiences  relative  to  the  artificial  fecunda- 
tion of  fishes  occurred  some  years  later.  The  work  of  Jacobi 
was  published  in  Paris  in  1770.  The  Marquis  de  Pezay^m 
his  Soirees  helvetiennes^  signalized  the  fortunate  results  ob- 
tained at  Noterlem,  including  the  information  that  England 
wished  to  recompense  Jacobi  by  a  liberal  pension. 

Two  years  thereafter,  and  twelve  years  after  the  successful 

■experiments  of  Jacobi,  Adamson,  in  his  course  at  the  Jardin 
du  lloi  in  1772,  made  known  to  his  auditors  the  plan  and 
practicability  of  artificial  fecundation,  stating  that  it  was  ha- 
bitually practiced  on  the  borders  of  the  Weser,  in  Switzer- 
I 


354  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Watees. 

land,  in  the  Palatinate  of  the  Rhine,  and  in  the  mountains  and 
elevated  parts  of  Germany.  For  this  object,  he  said,  they 
take  by  the  head  a  female  salmon  in  November  or  December, 
or  a  trout  in  December  or  January,  the  times  when  these 
fishes  deposit  their  ova.  These  fish  are  held  over  a  vase  with 
a  quart  of  water  in  it,  and  by  a  light  pressure  on  the  abdo- 
men downward,  the  female  vents  the  roe.  They  then  take  a 
male  salmon,  and  rub  his  belly  down  with  the  palm  of  the 
hand  in  the  same  manner:  milt  falls  on  the  roe  and  mixes 
with  it,  when  it  is  placed  in  a  running  stream  and  covered 
lightly  with  gravel,  and  after  several  months  the  fish  hatch. 

The  Course  of  Natural  History,  by  Adamson,  was  repub- 
lished in  Paris  in  1845,  when  its  information  on  fish-culture 
first  attracted  attention  to  the  truths  published  by  him  sev- 
enty years  previously. 

The  copy  of  the  manuscript  of  Jacobi  was  sent  to  France  by 
German  officials,  and  thus  became  finally  translated.  Those 
who  are  educated  to  be  courtiers  or  politicians  do  not  always 
read.  Apropos  of  this  truth :  the  artificial  fecundation  of 
roe  by  Jacobi,  imparted  through  his  inter mediaires,  the  Count 
de  Goldstein  and  the  naturalist  Gleditch,  became  neglected 
and  forgotten.  During  sixty  years  no  one  dreamed  of  read- 
ing the  '^Trccite  des  peches  de  Duhamel,''''  the  veritable  work 
of  Jacobi.  The  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  did  not  retain 
a  souvenir  of  the  success  obtained  at  Noterlem  for  the  artifi- 
cial multiplication  "  des  Truites  et  des  Saumonsy 

If  the  Chevalier  Bufalina,  of  Cesena,  had  succeeded  in  fe- 
cundating several  fishes,  no  one  saw  any  novel  feature  in  the 
operation  not  developed  by  Spallanzani ;  and  if  Jacobi  had 
invented  a  successful  plan  of  artificial  fish-culture  in  Germany, 
and  if,  in  the  region  of  the  Rhine  and  in  Switzerland,  where 
fishermen  "were  successfully  practicing  fish-culture  and  enrich- 
ing their  streams  by  it,  yet  the  world  was  as  ignorant  of  its 
true  bearings  upon  the  needs  and  prosperity  of  a  country  as 
if  nothing  had  ever  been  said  or  written  upon  the  subject ; 
so  the  progress  may  thus  far  be  counted  as  nil. 


Experiments  in  Fish-ctjltuke. 


355 


CHAPTER  m. 

FISH-CULTURE  OF  THIS  CENTURY. 

o  D  E  R  N  fish  -  culture  is 
indebted  to  only  thir- 
ty years'  practice  for 
all  the  wonders  it  has 
achieved.  The  early 
part  of  the  present  cen- 
tury was  unfavorable 
to  the  development  of 
industry.  War  en- 
gaged the  attention  of 
the  civilized  world. 
Many  improvements 
known  in  France,  Ita- 
ly, Germany,  and  En- 
gland at  the  commencement  of  their  revolutions,  were  lost 
to  this  century ;  but  the  calm  which  peace  restored  fructified 
genius  and  utilized  its  discoveries. 

In  1820,  MM.  Hivert  and  Pilachon,  two  inhabitants  of  the 
Haute-Marne^  fecundated  eggs  of  trout.  After  hatching,  they 
took  the  "  alevins'''  (the  young,  before  the  umbilical  sac  is  ab- 
sorbed) to  the  waters  which  they  desired  to  stock.  These 
facts,  though  confirmed  by  M.  de  Montgaudry  and  M.  Jour- 
dier,  did  not  electrify  the  public  mind,  or  evei^  cause  a  single 
government  to  put  forth  an  efibrt  for  restocking  depleted 
waters  to  cheapen  food.  So  the  matter  lay  dormant  again 
seventeen  years,  when  John  Shaw,  of  Scotland,  fecundated  the 
eggs  of  a  salmon,  and  hatched  them  by  artificial  means,  which 
resulted  in  a  memoir  of  his  experiments  relative  to  the  prop- 
agation of  salmon.     But  this,  instead  of  causing  efforts  to  be- 


356  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

come  more  numerous  and  of  wider  scope,  was  merged  in  the 
side  issue  of  the  "  parr  question,"  which  absorbed  attention, 
as  indicated  by  an  important  article  in  Blackwood  of  that 
year  upon  the  "  Transmutations  of  the  Salmon." 

The  first  person  in  France  who  seriously  called  general  at- 
tention to  the  study  and  practice  of  artificially  stocking  the 
waters  was  Baron  de  JRivihre.  He  urged  the  peculiar  advan- 
tages obtained  by  leading  the  young  eels  from  estuaries  up 
artificial  streams,  and  capturing  them,  to  distribute  in  con- 
venient proportions  throughout  the  waters  of  France. 

In  the  history  of  modern  pisciculture  a  little  event  occurred 
without  noise  in  1844,  in  the  Department  of  the  Vosges,  which 
gave  rise  a  few  years  later  to  much  excitement. 

A  fisherman  ofZaJBresse,m  the  commune  of  Remiremont, 
situated  in  one  of  the  most  elevated  parts  of  the  canton  of 
Saulxures — Joseph  Remy  by  name — having  seen  the  trout, 
at  other  times  numerous  in  the  streams  of  the  mountains,  di- 
minishing so  fast  as  to  produce  grave  prejudice  to  his  indus- 
try, the  rivers  and  the  brooks  in  the  Vosges  having  been 
dried  up  by  a  long  drought  in  1842,  sought  from  Nature  a 
remedy.  This  humble  man,  endowed  with  a  spirit  of  obser- 
vation, studied  with  intelligence  the  habits  of  the  trout  from 
the  moment  of  hatching,  until  he  arrived  at  the  idea  of  artifi- 
cial fecundation,  and,  by  numerous  experiments,  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  arranging  the  hatching  apparatus  into  compart- 
ments, as  it  is  done  at  this  day,  though  commencing,  like 
Jacobi,  by  placing  the  fecundated  ova  in  a  trough,  with 
wire-grating  cover  and  ends  in  the  trout-stream,  letting  the 
natural  running  of  the  stream  hatch  the  eggs,  which  were 
slightly  covered  with  gravel  in  the  trough. 

Remy,  chagrined  at  not  knowing  any  person  with  means 
from  whom  he  might  hope  for  assistance  by  communicating 
his  discoveries,  became  melancholy  and  fell  sick,  when  he 
confided  his  secret  to  the  keeper  of  the  little  tavern  where 
he  boarded,  by  name  Antoine  Gehin.  This  inn-keeper  was 
to  him  a  collaborateur,  and  soon  became  full  of  zeal  both  as 


Reasons  for  Water-faeming.  357 

a  fisherman  and  pisciculturist.  The  names  of  Remy  and  Ge- 
hin  were  destined  to  become  indissoluble.  They  unveiled 
the  advantages  of  the  discovery  to  a  few  notable  persons ; 
but  our  two  poor  copartners  met  with  the  difficulties  com- 
mon to  those  who  discover  any  strange  improvement  by 
means  of  a  switch  from  the  track  of  Nature.  In  the  mean 
time  the  inspector  of  primary  schools  in  the  Vosges  received 
information  of  the  discovery,  and  communicated  it  to  the 
Society  of  Emulation.  This  society,  being  of  high  celebrity, 
occupied  itself  at  once  upon  the  question.  In  a  report  by 
M.  Sarrazin  on  the  recompenses  accorded  to  agriculture  and 
industry  by  the  Society  of  Emulation,  the  proceedings  of 
Remy  and  Gehin  were  described.  M.  Micard,  General  Guard 
of  the  Forests,  had  favored  the  early  efforts  of  Remy,  and 
gave  him  in  spawning-time  the  liberty  of  the  brooks  of  the 
forests. 

In  spite  of  the  memoir  of  John  Shaw — malgre  the  results 
which  were  vauntingly  promised  to  England — malgre  the 
fortunate  experiments  of  Remy  and  Gehin,  encouraged  by 
the  Society  of  Emulation  for  the  Vosges,  all  slept  again. 

The  interest  in  the  success  of  those  men,  whose  ardor  and 
industry  greatly  multiplied  the  number  of  fishes,  lasted  no 
longer  than  the  transient  sound  of  the  murmurs  of  the  rivers 
and  brooks  which  had  proved  the  theatre  of  their  exploits. 

But  on  the  23d  of  October,  1848,  M.  de  Quatrefages,  in  pur- 
suit of  the  development  of  certain  animals,  fished  up  the  com- 
munication of  Count  Goldstein,  and  read  at  the  Academic  des 
Sciences  a  memoir  demonstrative  of  artificial  fecundation  be- 
ing the  means  for  obviating  the  causes  of  destruction  to  the 
eggs  of  fishes. 

The  lecture  of  M.  de  Quatrefages  at  the  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences was  published  by  numerous  journals,  which  ^projected 
the  subject  into  the  air  of  public  favor,  and  the  assurance  of 
the  lecturer  that  a  pursuit  of  the  subject  would  be  the  birth 
of*  a  new  industry  important  to  the  world,  decided  the  com- 
mencement of  action.     All  the  world  was  at  once  going  into 


fe 


358  FiSHma  m  American  Waters. 

the  artificial  fecundation  project,  and  founded  the  most  bril- 
liant hopes  of  the  new  art  oi pisciculture. 

The  information  of  Quatrefages'  lecture  reached  Epinal, 
and  was  seen  by  the  Society  of  Emulation  in  the  Vosges 
about  four  months  after  it  was  delivered.  On  the  2d  of 
March,  1 849,  the  secretary  of  the  society  wrote  to  M.  de  Qua- 
trefages  that  two  fishermen  of  La  Bresse  had  been  engaged 
since  1844  at  stocking  the  waters  of  the  Vosges  with  trout 
produced  by  artificial  fecundation. 

All  at  once,  loud  became  the  acclamation  in  favor  oiRimy 
and  Gehin^  as  if  the  echo  had  gained  strength  by  the  years 
in  which  the  truth  had  lain  dormant.  Next  an  English  en- 
gineer, M.  Gottleib  Boccius,  announced  the  great  advantage 
which  the  inhabitants  of  the  Vosges  had  derived  from  re- 
peopling  their  rivers  by  the  aid  of  artificial  fecundation,  and 
hatching  fishes  in  boxes  where  they  were  secure  from  nu- 
merous enemies  of  both  water  and  air.  He  had  published  a 
small  treatise  in  1841  with  the  object  of  benefiting  lar^ded 
proprietors  in  stocking  their  waters,  and  more  especially  their 
artificial  fish-ponds.  But  the  French  philosophers  regarded 
the  discovery  in  a  national  aspect.  Hence  one  of  the  savants 
most  illustrious,  M.  Dumas,  who  was  minister  of  Agriculture 
and  Commerce,  charged  the  most  authoritative  naturalist,  M. 
Milne  Edwards,  to  examine  and  give  an  opinion  upon  the  di- 
vers essays  published  in  England,  Germany,  and  France  upon 
the  subject  of  stocking  fluvial  waters  with  fish. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  1850,  M.  Milne  Edwards  addressed 
a  report  to  the  minister,  in  which  he  reviewed  the  work  of 
Jacobi,  and  noticed  the  success  of  Remy  and  Gehin  with 
marked  commendation  for  their  perseverance  in  perfecting 
fish-culture,  whereby  they  had  restocked  the  streams  of  the 
canton,  besides  having  discovered  a  new  industry  for  France. 
He  also  named  a  dozen  important  rivers  and  lakes  which 
they  had  restocked  with  trout,  concluding  with  impressively 
recommending  them  to  government  favor.  He  said  they  had 
done  more  than  to  stock  the  waters  with  trout,  for  they  had 


French  Fisheries'  Commissioners.  359 

stocked  them  with  frogs  also,  because  the  spawn  of  these 
time-beaters  is  an  aliment  which  the  young  trout  search  with 
avidity ;  and  the  tadpole  furnishes  an  excellent  pasture  for 
trout  more  advanced  in  age. 

For  fifteen  years  Gehin  had  been  working  under  the  full 
knowledge  of  what  now  engaged  the  sages  of  political  econ- 
omy. The  subject  enlarged,  as  they  thought  of  stocking  the 
waters  of  France  with  all  the  choice  fishes  of  the  world ;  and, 
conformably  with  the  view  explained  by  M.  Milne  Edwards, 
a  commission  was  named  by  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  and 
Commerce,  dated  September  28,  1850.  The  commission  in- 
cluded MM.  Milne  Edwards,  Valenciennes,  members  of  the  In- 
stitute ;  Susanne,  Inspector  of  Forests ;  de  Bon,  Commission- 
er of  Marine ;  de  Franqueville,  Chief  of  Navigation  and  of 
the  Ports,  and  Minister  of  Public  Works ;  Monny  de  Momay, 
Chief  of  the  Division  of  Agriculture,  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  Commerce ;  Coste,  Professor  of  Embryogo- 
ny  at  the  College  of  France ;  Doyere,  Professor  of  Zoology 
at  the  National  Agronomique  Institute. 

The  decree  was  signed  by  Dumas,  and  in  the  spring  of  1 85 1 , 
M.  Valenciennes — the  ichthyologist — received  a  mission  from 
the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce  to  visit  and  pro- 
cure the  large  fishes  of  the  rivers  in  Germany  wherewith  to 
stock  the  lakes  and  ponds  of  France.  He  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining several  species,  of  which  he  conveyed  to  Paris  the 
living  individuals,  including  sandre,  genus  Jjucioperca^  Lin., 
the  silure^  one  of  the*  most  voracious  fishes  in  creation,  the  av- 
erage size  of  which  is  large  enough  to  dine  eighteen  persons. 

The  silures  (silurus  glanis),  with  the  sandres  and  a  dozen 
lotes  (eel-pouts),  were  placed  in  the  reservoirs  at  Marly.  Thfe 
selection  of  fishes  speaks  unfavorably  for  the  taste  ofM.  Va- 
lenciennes. The  sandre  grows  large  enough  to  dine  eight  per- 
sons, but  is  a  dry  fish ;  the  eel-pouts  are  detestable,  and  dis- 
gusting to  behold ;  the  glanis  is  similar  to  a  Missouri  River 
catfish!  Of  this  selection  wherewith  to  stock  the  fresh  wa- 
ters of  France,  not  one  lived  to  leave  any  posterity. 


360  Fishing  in  American  Wateks. 

M.  Coste  then  advised  that  the  numerous  ponds  of  Ver- 
sailles be  employed  as  "  stables"  wherein  to  propagate  fishes 
for  the  waters  of  France,  believing  that  in  those  spacious  ba- 
sins fishes  which  inhabit  alternately  the  fresh  and  salt  waters, 
such  as  the  salmon,  shad,  lamprey,  and  plaice,  might  be  culti- 
vated. The  advice  was  followed  with  unsuccessful  result. 
In  the  mean  time,  two  engineers  of  hridges,  MM.  Detzem  and 
Bertol,  made  large  profits  by  peopling  the  Canal  du  Bhdne. 
They  had  been  invited  by  the  prefet  of  Doubs  to  verify  the 
method  in  use  in  the  Vosges,  when,  with  assistants,  they 
hatched  in  four  months  3,382,000  eggs  of  salmon,  trout,  perch, 
pike,  etc.  On  May  7th,  1851,  they  placed  in  basins  confided 
to  their  ^are  1,583,111  fishes  recently  hatched. 

The  facility  for  hatching  fishes  by  millions  induced  them  to 
calculate  how  many  fishes  might  live  in  the  fresh  waters  of 
France.  Estimating  the  actual  population  to  be  twenty-five 
millions  of  fishes,  they  concluded  that  by  four  years'  artificial 
hatching  the  number  would  be  increased  to  three  billions, 
one  hundred  and  seventy  millions,  and  yield  a  revenue  of 
more  than  nine  hundred  millions  francs. 

It  was  evident  that  they  had  consulted  but  one  side  of  the 
question,  and  that  the  least  difficult.  Myriads  of  fishes  may 
easily  be  hatched,  but  the  questions  of  greater  import  are, 
how  are  they  to  be  protected,  subsisted,  and  made  to  grow  ? 
These  are  the  questions  which  most  seriously  address  them- 
selves to  the  student  of  modern  fish-culture.  The  brains  of 
Bertol  and  Detzem  were  made  dizzy  by  ^e  presence  of  a  cal- 
culation which  proved  millions  of  revenue  easily  obtained, 
and  they  exclaimed, "  Is  it  possible  to  endow  France  with 
such  a  revenue  ?"  On  the  examination  of  results  so  unexpect- 
ed, no  member  of  the  Fisheries'  Commission  evinced  a  senti- 
ment of  distrust,  stating  that  they  were  aware  the  calculation 
produces  the  same  impression  on  all  those  who  examine  the 
subject. 

Bertol  and  Detzem,  encouraged  by  the  Minister  of  Agricul- 
ture and  Commerce,  followed  their  work  with  great  zeal,  and, 


Fish-food  for  Food-fishes.  361 

established  at  Loechlehrun^  near  Huningue,  continued  the  op- 
erations df  hatching  trout  and  salmon  on  an  extensive  scale. 
By  their  second  report  in  March,  1852,  they  announced  that 
since  the  November  preceding  722,600  eggs  had  yielded 
700,000  fishes. 

From  the  day  when  M.  De  Quatrefages  called  attention  to 
the  advantages  of  artificial  fecundation  for  repeopling  the 
waters  of  France,  M.  Coste  occupied  himself  incessantly  upon 
fish-culture.  He  explained  the  experiments  on  alimentation 
and  growth  of  young  eels,  which  ascend  the  streams  every 
spring.  These  fishes,  nourished  by  the  debris  of  the  butcher- 
shops- cemented  into  a  sort  of  pie,  are  fattened  and  made  to 
grow  very  fast,  attaining  to  the  weight  of  several  pounds  in 
a  single  season. 

In  1853,  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  and  Commerce,  for 
the  object  of  founding  an  establishment  of  fish-culture  at 
Huningue,  accorded  a  credit  of  30,000  francs.  This  credit, 
M.  Coste  stated,  "  is  to  be  used  in  undertaking  one  of  the 
most  grand  experiments  of  which  the  natural  sciences  have 
ever  given  an  example."  He  also  described  the  method  for 
preparing  the  food  for  young  salmon  and  trout  with  a  pie 
formed  of  butchers'  oflal,  or  of  horse-flesh  boiled.  A  knowl- 
edge of  the  advantage  of  this  feed  was  acquired  by  the  ex- 
periments of  Dr.  Lamy  at  the  artificial  hatchings  in  the  pare 
du  Maintenon. 

In  1856,  the  subject  of  fish-culture  engaged  more  or  less 
the  attention  of  a  majority  of  the  best  minds  in  France, 
whether  men  of  state  or  of  science,  or  men  of  wealth  and  en- 
terprise. Though  the  felicitations  and  encouragement  of  the 
fishermen  of  the  Vosges  had  not  been  cooled  or  diminished, 
yet  the  book-philosophers,  having  read  up,  became  aware  that 
hatching  fishes  by  art  had  engaged  the  minds  of  sages  in  oth- 
er ages ;  and  as  that  was  the  most  simple  part  in  the  train  of 
successfully  restocking  waters,  they  were  studying  and  exper- 
imenting to  acquire  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  nature, 
habits,  preferable  haunts,  and  means  of  subsistence.     M,  de 


362  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

Tocqueville  had  determined  that  a  strong  light  was  injuri- 
ous, and  that  a  lamp  or  candle  should  not  be  thrust  before 
young  fishes.  This  was  one  of  the  reasons  for  placing  the 
government  breeding  apparatus  at  Huningue  under  cover; 
another  was  to  maintain  in  the  hatching-troughs  nearly  an 
even  temperature  throughout  the  winter  while  hatching 
game  fishes  of  the  genus  Salmo^  that  spawn  late  in  autumn ; 
for  these,  while  young,  are  much  more  delicate  than  common 
fishes,  which  (spawning  in  spring)  hatch  in  a  few  days,  and 
require  comparatively  no  care  in  the  process  or  in  the  kinds 
of  feed;  for,  as  they  come  into  the  world  without  a  sac  of  pro- 
vision to  last  them  a  month  suspended  to  the  umbilical  cord, 
nature  prepares  them  for  fighting  their  way  for  food  from,  the 
moment  when  they  leave  the  shell. 

Gehin  had  visited  Paris  in  1850,  and  was  presented  to  Lou- 
is Napoleon,  then  president  of  the  republic,  as  quite  a  person- 
age, and  received  from  the  government,  in  compliance  with 
the  promise  of  M.  Milne  Edwards,  the  mission  to  stock  the 
rivers  of  several  departments. 

There  were  50,000  brook  and  lake  trout  introduced  to  the 
waters  of  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  in  1866,  where  they  grew 
rapidly.  At  this  time  many  of  the  public  waters  through- 
out France,  which  had  rested  dormant,  began  to  astonish 
and  delight  the  neighborhoods  with  the  leaps  above  water 
of  amber  beauties,  which  formed  miniature  rainbows  in  the 
gleams  of  the  sun,  and  many  peasants  regarded  this  novel 
gift  of  life  and  beauty  as  a  providential  blessing  on  Napo- 
leon's reign. 

Reports  of  successes  m pisciculture  poured  in  monthly  more 
numerously  from  every  department.  The  waters  were  ev- 
ery where  stocked  with  young  fishes,  which  were  doing  well. 
The  ponds,  lakes,  and  reservoirs  in  public  parks  were  each 
annually  hatching  25,000  to  50,000  of  the  genus  Salmo  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public  rivers  of  France. 

In  the  departments  generally,  the  zeal  of  the  prefets  kept 
pace  with  that  of  the  government,  and  men  of  science  and 


Impokting  Salmon  Ova.  363 

the  Conseils  Generaux  voted  the  sums  to  successfully  operate 
the  enterprises. 

Thus  the  great  work  continued  to  proceed  with  unvary- 
ing success  until  1862,  when  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  and 
Commerce  published  a  history  of  the  perfect  success  of  Hu- 
ningue,  which  includes  seventy  acres  laid  out  into  artificial 
creeks,  ponds,  and  hatching-houses.  The  statistics  in  this  his- 
tory were  furnished  by  M.  Courses^  Ingenieiir  en  chef  des  tra- 
vaux  du  Mhin^  to  whom  application  should  be  made  for  vivi- 
fied roe  wherewith  to  stock  waters  in  the  United  States.  By 
my  advice,  Seth  Green  made  such  order  in  the  autumn  of 
1865,  and  in  the  spring  of  1866  the  eggs  came  to  the  New 
York  Custom-house,  where  ofiicial  and  other  delays  detained 
them  until  they  died.  The  French  government  had  gener- 
ously presented  Mr.  Green  20,000  fecundated  salmon  ova,  so 
nearly  hatched  as  to  show  the  eyes  of  the  alevins,  carefully 
packed  them  in  moss,  and  shipped  them  gratuitously !  And 
then  to  know  that  our  government  was  so  callous  to  the  ma- 
terial interests  of  the  people  as  not  only  to  have  neglected  to 
make  any  effort  toward  reducing  the  prices  of  food-fishes,  but 
to  have  actually  rendered  the  revenue  officers  a  barrier 
against  the  efforts  by  men  of  enterprise  who  would  embark 
their  own  money  in  it,  is  humiliating ! 

I  humbly  ask.  Is  it  not  the  duty  of  Congress  to  authorize 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior  to  appoint  a  commission  for  the 
improvement  of  the  fisheries  in  the  United  States  ?  Individ- 
ual states  can  not,  unaided  by  the  federal  government,  im- 
port either  ova  or  young  fishes  of  choice  quality  from  abroad. 
Without  the  seal  of  a  United  States  commissioner,  the  col- 
lectors of  revenue  have  no  discretion  but  to  destroy  the  im- 
portation by  delay,  exposure  to  heat  or  cold,  or  to  the  air. 
Any  authority  given  to  United  States  consuls  on  the  other 
hemisphere  would  prove  ineffectual,  for  there  are  no  consuls 
near  the  great piseicultural  establishments ;  and,  in  fact,  since 
the  fiasco  of  the  Acclimatization  Society  in  the  preserves  of 
Mr.  Francis  Francis  at  Twickenham,  there  is  no  establishment 


364  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

of  fish-culture  left  in  Europe  which  supplies  fecundated  ova 
but  the  national  one  of  Huningue,  and  by  this  one  all  appli- 
cants are  served — by  order  of  the  French  government — free 
of  expense. 

The  liberality  of  France  in  bestowing  ova  and  young  fishes 
on  all  applicants  did  not  prevent  her  from  deriving  the  re- 
spectable revenue  in  1862  for  her  fresh-water  fisheries  of 
$4,000,000.  In  1861  the  Huningue  establishment  distributed 
about  9,000,000  ova,  and  in  1862  about  12,000,000. 

The  paramount  reason  for  artificial  culture  is  based  on  the 
known  fact  that  of  every  thousand  salmon  or  trout  hatched 
in  a  stream  in  the  natural  way,  not  more  than  one  arrives  at 
marketable  size ;  and  as  a  salmon  yields  about  one  thousand 
ova  to  the  pound,  a  pair  of  salmon  would  scarcely  yield 
twenty-five  per  cent,  if  hatching  in  a  stream  where  the  eggs 
and  alevins  are  unprotected,  while  if  the  20,000  eggs  were 
hatched  artificially  and  the  young  salmon  protected,  the  in- 
crease to  marketable  size  would  generally  be  two  thousand 
per  cent. 

The  numerous  successes  resulting  from  artificial  propaga- 
tion, and  restocking  and  newly  stocking  waters  in  France,  has 
had  a  favorable  influence  throughout  the  civilized  world,  so 
that  within  a  few  years  Belgium,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Ger- 
many, Italy,  and  Spain  have  establishments  of  fish-culture. 

On  the  British  Isles  great  results  have  been  accomplished 
near  Galway  and  on  the  River  Tay,  so  that  the  rentals  of 
some  fisheries  have  increased  fifty  per  cent.  Through  the 
enterprise  of  Mr.  Francis,  of  the  Meld,  some  of  the  waters  of 
Australia  have  been  stocked  by  ova  transported  from  En- 
gland— fifteen  thousand  miles !  He  has  also  succeeded  in 
stocking  a  river  in  New  Zealand  in  the  same  manner.  The 
River  Plenty,  first  stocked  in  Tasmania,  has  proved  a  success 
in  both  trout  and  salmon. 

That  the  gigantic  rebellion  has  delayed  action  by  the 
United  States  government  is  quite  natural ;  but  one  of  the 
paramount  duties  of  government  is  to  increase  the  stock  of 


I 


FisH-cuLTUBE  IN  Ameeica.  365 

food-fishes  in  the  waters  throughout  the  Union.  Reports 
from  the  French  government  have  been  forwarded  to  the 
President,  and  by  him  they  have  been  laid  before  Congress, 
so  that  the  subject  will  doubtless  soon  be  acted  on  nationally. 

Through  the  efibrts  of  individual  states,  much  has  been 
done  within  the  past  three  years.  Influenced  by  an  intelli- 
gent enterprise  for  which  the  states  of  New  England  are 
justly  celebrated,  each  of  those  states  has  appointed  a  Fisher- 
ies Commission,  and  the  following  extract  from  a  report  of 
progress  in  one  state  may  be  accepted  as  a  fair  sample  of  all : 

"  Of  the  40,000  spawn  recently  placed  for  incubation  in  the 
Cold  Spring  trout-ponds  at  Charleston,  New  Hampshire,  for 
the  Connecticut  River,  the  first  salmon  were  hatched  Decem- 
ber 11th,  1865.  The  eyes  of  the  embryo  salmon  were  first 
clearly  seen  in  the  egg  about  November  25th.  The  eggs 
were  taken  from  the  parent  salmon  on  the  Miramichi  Octo- 
ber 10th,  making  62  days  as  the  period  of  incubation.*  The 
first  trout  which  broke  shell  at  these  hatching-works  this 
season  came  out  on  November  9th,  35  days  from  the  time 
when  the  roe  and  milt  were  shed  by  the  parent  fishes." 

Fish-culture  is  a  success.  It  is  not  only  triumphant,  but  it 
is  almost  miraculous.  Waters  hitherto  worse  than  useless 
may  be  made  a  hundred  fold  as  profitable  as  any  equal  num- 
ber of  acres  of  land,  and  with  not  a  tithe  of  the  labor.  But 
these  truths,  so  palpably  patent  to  many  intellectual  minds 
of  the  present  day,  are  almost  a  sealed  book  to  the  mass  of 
the  rising  generation.  In  view,  therefore,  of  these  facts,  and 
the  depressing  truth  that  the  fishes  of  the  coast  and  inland 
waters  are  annually  decreasing,  while  by  immigration  and 
natural  causes  our  nation  is  increasing  in  population  faster 
than  any  other  on  the  globe,  is  it  not  advisable  to  make  the 
art  of  fish-culture  a  study  in  the  agricultural  colleges  ? 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  inauguration  of  plans  for  pro- 

*  Mr.  Francis  and  other  fish-culturists  are  not  in  favor  of  employing  water 
so  warm  as  to  hatch  in  so  short  a  time,  believing  that  the  young  fish  are  not 
s )  hardy  as  those  hatched  in  colder  water. 


366  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 

tecting  fisheries  by  laws,  and  increasing  the  numbers  of  fishes 
by  aqua-culture  and  fish-culture,  are  due  to  the  efibrts  put 
forth  by  sportsmen's  clubs,  scattered  throughout  the  United 
States  as  ofishoots  from  the  parent  New  York  Sportsmen's 
Club.  Too  much  praise  can  not  be  awarded  those  benevo- 
lent institutions,  united  solely  for  the  public  good,  for  which 
they  shun  no  duty  through  fear  of  the  poacher's  hatred  or 
the  malevolence  of  dealers  in  stolen  goods.  The  poacher 
both  hates  and  fears  them,  while  they  are  the  principal  reli- 
ance for  guaranteeing  the  public  that  the  laws  for  the  pro- 
tection of  fish  and  game  will  be  sustained. 

If  the  national  and  state  governments  will  unite  in  stock- 
ing and  protecting  the  fresh  waters,  they  will  soon  arrive  at 
truths  sufficiently  luminous  from  which  to  form  data  for  laws 
adequate  to  govern  the  whole  question.  To  the  ignorance 
of  legislators  may  henceforth  be  attributed  the  lack  of  suit- 
able laws  for  the  protection  and  stocking  of  water-farms  of 
millions  of  acres,  which  might  be  rendered  a  means  of  recre- 
ation for  the  improvement  of  health,  while  offering  cheap  and 
luxurious  food  to  the  million. 


Cuttle-fish. — Sepia  officinalis. 


Killing  two  Bieds  with  one  Stone. 


367 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  SALMON. 

Near  head  of  stream,  in  crystal  spring, 

Or  recess  of  the  strand, 
The  salmon  drops  its  precious  eggs 

Amid  the  pure  white  sand  ; 
And  here  the  infant  fish  disport 

Beyond  the  harm  of  tides, 
Each  swarming  shoal  resplendent 

With  dotted  silvery  sides. 

the  want  of  data,  the 
nature  and  habits  of 
salmon  were  a  sealed 
book    to    naturalists 
until,  through  the  dis- 
covery  and  practice 
of  fish-culture  by  ar- 
tificial means,  some 
mysteries  in  physiol- 
ogy were  interpreted. 
In  the  natural  his- 
tory of  the   salmon, 
two   questions   occur 
which  have  presented 
a  good  deal  of  difficulty  to  pisciculturists  and  naturalists  in 
arriving  at  just  conclusions.     Tlie  first  is.  How  long  do  the 
young  salmon  inhabit  the  fresh-water  streams  in  which  they 
were  hatched  before  they  migrate  to  the  sea  ?    The  second 
is.  How  long  do  they  inhabit  the  sea  before  they  return  as 
grilse  to  the  rivers  in  which  they  were  bred  ? 

A  salmon  has  properly  four  stages  of  existence.  The  first 
is  when  it  is  a  parr,  or  a  small  bright  fish  with  dark  bars 
across  the  sides,  which  are  commonly  called  the  parr  marks. 


368  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

The  second  is  when  it  puts  on  the  silvery  scales  of  the  grilse, 
which  occurs  when  it  is  about  to  emigrate  to  the  sea.  It  ap- 
pears as  if  the  little  pet,  when  in  the  parr  state,  required  some 
provision  against  the  novel  effects  of  salt  water  which  it  is 
about  to  encounter,  for  nature  furnishes  it  with  a  new  suit 
of  scales,  bright  and  silvery  as  those  of  the  parent  salmon. 
These  begin  to  develop  themselves  just  previously  to  the 
first  migration  of  the  fish.  The  scales  form  apparently  over 
the  old  skin,  and  in  doing  so  they  obscure  the  parr  marks, 
and  the  fish  becomes  a  smolt,  or  a  miniature  grilse  ;  but  that 
it  is  the  same  fish  may  easily  be  seen  by  rubbing  off  a  few  of 
those  new  scales,  when  the  parr  marks  are  plainly  seen  which 
were  hidden  beneath  them.  These  scales  are  at  this  time 
very  lightly  attached  to  the  skin,  and  can  be  easily  detached, 
coming  off  even  by  the  mere  handling  of  the  fish ;  and  this 
insecurity  of  the  attachment  of  the  scales  continues  through- 
out the  whole  period  of  grilsehood,  or  until  the  fish  becomes 
a  veritable  and  mature  salmon,  when  whether  it  develops  a 
new  suit  of  scales  is  not  known,  but  the  scales  certainly  be- 
come much  more  firmly  fixed  to  the  skin,  and  are  far  more 
difficult  to  remove.  But  the  point  in  debate  is  how  long  the 
parr  remains  in  the  river  before  it  becomes  a  smolt.  Now 
experiment  has  shown  us  thus  much,  viz.,  that  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  parr  become  smolts  in  about  fifteen  months,  that 
is,  supj)osing  them  to  have  been  hatched  from  the  egg  in  the 
fall,  or  say  in  the  winter.  They  live  in  the  river  over  the 
next  autumn,  and  do  not  become  smolts  and  migrate  to  sea 
until  the  next  succeeding  spring.  It  has  been  found  that  a 
very  large  proportion  of  them  do  not  become  smolts  and  mi- 
grate even  then,  but  stay  in  the  river  yet  another  year,  and 
so  do  not  put  on  the  smolt  scale  and  migrate  until  the  next 
succeeding  spring.  Thus  some  remain  in  the  rivers  altogeth- 
er two  years  and  two  or  three  months,  and  others  remain 
even  for  another  year  still,  and  do  not  migrate  till  the  third 
year.  These  facts  for  a  long  time  puzzled  naturalists,  and 
gave  rise  to  the  supposition  that  there  was  another  fish  of 


Cleaking  up  the  Question.  369 

the  salmon  species  which  never  went  to  the  sea,  called  the 
"  Salmo  samulus,"  because,  after  the  great  annual  migration 
of  the  smolts,  parr  were  yet  found  in  the  rivers,  and  it  was 
thought  that  as  all  parr  became  smolts  in  fifteen  months, 
those  which  staid  behind  must  be  of  another  species  alto- 
gether. But  science  and  fish-culture  have  dispelled  this  er- 
ror, and  it  is  now  known  that  the  "Salmo  samulus"  is  a 
myth. 

When  the  smolt  went  down  to  the  sea  for  the  first  time,  it 
was  generally  supposed  that  it  returned  to  the  river  again  in 
a  period  of,  from  two  to  four  months,  and  its  extraordinary 
and  unusal  increase  was  always  cited  as  one  of  the  most  val- 
uable qualities  of  the  salmon ;  for,  if  it  could  grow  from  the 
weight  of  only  two  to  three  ounces  to  eight  or  ten  pounds  in 
three  months,  it  was  almost  a  lusus  naturce.  But,  though 
smolts  do  grow  very  remarkably  under  favorable  circumstan- 
ces, a  strong  doubt  has  been  thrown  upon  the  fact  of  salmon 
growing  quite  so  fast  as  this,//*om»^Ae  smolt  state^  by  experi- 
ment and  experience ;  for  it  has  been  found  uniformly — in  ' 
mU  cases  where  the  waters  were  what  are  termed  virgin 
waters^  that  is,  waters  never  before  inhabited  by  salmon — that 
when  such  waters  were  stocked  with  young  salmon  fry,  or 
with  ova  laid  down  for  hatching,  a  period  of  fifteen  instead 
of  three  months  invariably  elapsed  before  the  emigrating 
smolts  came  back  to  the  river  as  well-grown  grilse  of  six  or 
seven  pounds'  weight ;  and  in  the  instance  of  much  larger 
grilse,  as  those  which  are  at  times  met  with  of  even  eleven 
pounds'  weight,  that  a  yet  longer  period  may  have  elapsed. 
This,  however,  is  merely  conjecture.  In  the  late  remarkable 
experiments  in  Australia,  where  no  such  thing  as  a  salmon 
ever  was  known,  it  was  clearly  proved  that  the  smolts  were 
a  year  and  some  months  at  sea  before  they  returned,  and  in 
other  waters  never  before  tenanted  by  salmon  the  same  re- 
sult has  ensued.  This  is  very  strong  evidence  against  the 
two  or  three  months'  theory,  particularly  when  the  evidence 
supporting  that  theory  was  gathered  from  well-stocked  rivers, 
Aa 


370  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

where  there  could  not  fail  to  arise  great  difficulties  in  identi- 
fying the  fish  upon  which  experiments  had  been  tried;  for 
the  uncertainty  and  difficulty  of  marking  a  parr  of  two 
ounces,  which  is  to  grow  to  sixty  or  seventy  times  that 
weight  before  it  can  be  caught  again  and  identified,  can  not 
fail  to  be  very  great  indeed.  However,  this  is  still  a  moot 
question,  and  it  has  not  been  as  yet  satisfactorily  determined, 
though  it  would  seem  that  the  soundest  and  most  reliable 
evidence  is  in  favor  of  the  fifteen  months'  theory  Tather  than 
the  other. 

When  the  grilse  returns  to  the  river,  it  spawns,for  the  first 
time  as  a  grilse,  in  which,  its  third  stage  of  existence,  it  is  per- 
fectly distinguishable  from  the  salmon  ;  for  not  only  are  the 
scales  loose  and  easily  detached,  but  the  fish  is  more  slender 
and  delicate  in  shape  than  the  adult  salmon,  and  the  tail  is 
much  more  forked.  Having  spawned,  it  becomes  what  is  called 
a  kelt  or  foul  fish.  The  flesh  is  white,  and  the  fish  is  out  of 
condition  and  unwholesouie  to  eat.  It  then  goes  down  to  the 
sea  by  easy  stages,  and  there,  by  the  aid  of  the  healthful  salt 
waters  and  plenteous  food,  it  soon  recovers  its  condition  and 
grows  rapidly,  often  increasing  four  or  five  pounds  or  more 
in  weight.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months  (and  this  point  is 
clearly  ascertained  and  settled)  it  returns  again  to  the  river, 
but  in  the  mean  time  it  has  lost  its  grilse  form  and  become  a 
veritable  salmon.  The  scales  now  are  hard  and  firm,  the  fish 
of  a  hardier,  rounder  make,  the  tail  has  lost  its  forked  shape, 
and  it  has  reached  its  fourth  and  last  stage  of  existence. 

This  change  in  the  form  of  the  fish  actually  at  one  time  led 
to  the  belief  that  salmon  and  grilse  were  of  a  difierent  spe- 
cies, and  some  few  persons  stoutly  advocated  this  view ;  but 
the  ova  of  salmon  have  been  found  to  produce  grilse,  and 
marked  grilse  have  been  retaken  as  salmon,  so  that  there  are 
not  the  slightest  grounds  for  such  a  wild  supposition  now; 
and,  indeed,  the  belief  always  was  a  very  partial  one,  and  con- 
fined to  one  or  two  wrong-headed  individuals,  so  that  it  is 
now  entirely  exploded.    As  a  salmon,  it  continues  in  the  same 


Protect  Fish  at  Spawning-times.  371 

course  of  existence  until  it  is  cooked,  or  dies  of  old  age,  or  of 
wounds  and  weakness  from  incessant  fighting  at  the  breed- 
ing-time. It  seeks  the  river  every  year,  as  is  supposed,  though 
this  is  but  assumption,  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  prove, 
and  whether  it  breeds  every  year  or  only  at  intervals  it  is 
hard  to  say.  The  general  creed,  however,  is,  that  it  does 
breed  every  year,  and  all  that  it  requires  from  man  is  a  little 
reasonable  forbearance,  and  better  protection  at  the  breeding 
season  until  it  again  reaches  the  sea ;  and  if  it  is  able  to  reach 
the  higher  ranges  of  spawning-beds,  it  will  speedily  crowd 
our  rivers  with  delicious  food,  and  the  means  of  healthful  and 
magnificent  sport.  In  these  respects  the  capacity  of  Amer- 
ican rivers  is  second  to  that  of  none  in  the  world.  Our  riv- 
ers ought  to  swarm  with  salmon ;  and  when  we  hear  of  riv- 
ers in  England,  ridiculously  small  by  comparison  with  our 
own,  yielding  their  $100,000  a  year,  and  enormous  revenues 
besides,  do  we  not  feel  it  to  be  a  sin  and  a  shame  that  such 
splendid  capabilities  as  ours  should  be  suffered  to  be  behind 
them,  and  to  fall  into  neglect  and  disuse,  and  that  such  im- 
portant resources  should  be  lost  to  the  country  and  to  the 
consumers  throughout  the  Union  ?  If  an  American  wants 
salmon-fishing,  he  must  go  either  to  Canada  or  Scotland  for 
it,  and  this  is  disgraceful.  We  have  many  good  coast  and 
estuary  fishes,  but  none  equal  to  the  salmon  in  all  respects. 
Is  there  any  reason  why  we  should  not  have  the  best,  and 
plenty  of  it  ?  England  and  France  are  both  putting  their 
shoulders  to  the  wheel.  Have  we  less  energy  and  determin- 
ation than  they  ? 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  SALMON. 
PROCESS   OF  INCUBATION. 

The  egg  of  any  fish  of  the  genus  Salmo,  before  impregna- 
tion with  the  milt  of  the  male  fish,  is  the  color  of  the  yolk  of 
I  a  hen's  egg,  and  apparently  of  about  the  same  consistency, 
being  a  mixture  of  albumen  and  oil.     In  this  particular  the 


372  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

and  Gadidm^  which  appear  as  infinitesimal  atoms  of  albumen, 
enlarging  tenfold  within  an  hour  after  impregnation,  turning 
entirely  white,  and  the  fish  is  hatched  in  a  less  number  of 
hours  than  it  takes  of  days  for  the  genus  Salmo.  Incubation 
with  all  the  salmon  families  is  slow,  the  Qgg  indicating  no 
appreciable  increase  in  size  by  fructification ;  but,  being  por- 
ous, with  tubes  and  globules,  scientifically  termed  micropyles^ 
the  milt  fills  them,  and  they  present  the  appearance  of  white 
globules  in  the  egg,  as  represented  by  Fig.  1,  and  enlarged 
like  Fig.  2.     After  the  egg  has  remained  in  running  spring 


Fig.  1.  Salmon  egg  of  natural  size  after  fecundation.  Fig.  2.  Salmon  egg  enlarged,  to 
show  the  vesicles  and  globules.  Fig.  3.  Salmon  egg  in  which  the  embryo  is  per- 
ceptible. Fig.  4.  Alevin  just  hatched,  enlarged,  and  showing  the  umbilical  vesicle. 
Fig.  5.  Natural  length  of  the  alevin. 

water  of  temperatures  ranging  from  40°  to  50°,  the  egg  will 
disclose  the  shape  of  the  embryo  salmon  in  from  fifty  to  sev- 
enty days,*  as  illustrated  by  Fig.  3.  After  the  embryo  be- 
comes perceptible,  and  the  eyes  tolerably  distinct,  within  a 
few  days — say  from  five  to  fifteen — the  salmon  will  hatch 
into  the  shape  of  Fig.  4,  as  enlarged  from  the  natural  size,  in- 
dicated by  the  length  of  line.  Fig.  5.  Suspended  to  the  um- 
bilical cord  is  a  sac  containing  aliment  for  the  alevin,  on 
which  it  subsists  by  absorption  from  twenty-five  to  forty 
days,  when  the  tiny  creature  takes  its  second  form.  The  egg^ 
*  Salmon  have  been  hatched  in  fifty-five  days,  and  trout  in  thirty-five  days, 
in  water  55° ;  but  Mr.  Francis  recommends  spring  water  of  from  40°  to  45°, 
while  the  Cold  Spring  trout-ponds  at  Charleston,  N.  H.,  are  excellent  hatch- 
ing-waters, and  they  are  said  to  be  60°  asrmean  temperature. 


We  Improve  with  Age. 


373 


from  the  date  of  fructification  to  the  birth  of  the  fish,  varies 
from  60  to  120  days,  the  time  required  being  dependent  upon 
the  quality  and  temperature  of  the  water,  with  the  condition 
of  quiet  and  shade  necessary  to  accelerate  incubation. 

While  the  umbilical  vesicle  is  attached  to  the  tiny  fish  it 
is  called  an  "alevin"  (name  borrowed  from  the  French),  but 
after  its  absorption  it  is  known  as  a  "  fry,"  or  "  penk."  Now 
it  sculls  along  and  seeks  its  food  from  imperceptible  particles, 
as  animalculae  of  the  stream  and  the  tiny  fledglings  falling 
to  the  surface,  or  rising  from  the  bottom  to  burst  from  their 
embryotic  state  and  take  wing  at  the  top  of  the  stream.    Like 


Salmon  Fry — a,  the  natural  length. 

* 

the  young  of  the  fiajjEst'  breeds  of  animals  on  land,  it  appears 
more  delicate  and  less  able  to  contend  for  subsistence  than 
do  those  of  coarser  natures.  In  its  second  form  it  is  not 
beautiful,  and  few  would  suppose  it  a  young  salmon.  Its 
trans vcBBe  bars  are  plainly  marked,  and  within  three  months 
after  its  birth  it  assumes  lighter  shades,  and  carmine  spots 
begin  to  develop,  when  it  becomes  a  parr. 

^his  specimen  is  half  the  natural  length,  retaining  its  natu- 
ral proportions.  Though  only  between  five  and  six  inches  in 
length,  the  parr. from  which  I  made  this  copy  was  taken  by  me 


A  Park  Eight 'Months  Old. 


on  the  fly  and  hook  with  which  I  had  that  morning  brought 
two  goodly-sized  salmon  to  gaff.     This  fact  proves  the  real 


374  Fishing  in  American  Wateks. 

game  of  the  pet.  It  was  all  life — a  translucent  thing  of  ac- 
tion— having  a  dark  drab  back,  barred  sides,  and  seven  dots 
of  carmine  on  each  side,  which  were  brighter  than  any  burn- 
ished metal  or  precious  stone,  and  about  the  size  of  pigeon- 
shot.  It  was  the  most  anxious  and  voracious  creature  that  I 
had  ever  captured,  and  so  sat  down  at  once  on  the  bank  of 
Rattling  Run  to  sketch  this  liveliest  specimen  of  fish  kind 
that  I  had  ever  seen.^  During  the  month  of  August  parr  of 
the  last  fall  and  winter's  hatch  take  their  places  on  the  reefs, 
and  nip  the  wings  of  flies  intended  for  their  parents ;  especial- 
ly is  this  so  of  the  part  of  the  shoal  intended  to  visit  the  sea 
with  the  next  spring  freshets. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  while  this  fish  has  the  parr  rays, 
or  the  horizontal  bars  peculiar  to  the  parr,  its  head  is  taking 
better  form,  the  mouth  apparently  not  so  large,  and  the  white 
scales  are  almost  beginning  to  appear;  but  this  parr  is  not 


A  Parr  Fifteen  Months  Old. 
Half  the  natural  length  ;  proportions  natural. 

to  visit  the  sea  until  it  arrives  at  two  years  of  age  or  more. 
Those  of  the  shoal  which  do  not  visit  the  sea  until  after  hav- 
ing spent  two  autumns  in  fresh  water  develop  less  rapidly 
than  do  such  as  visit  the  sea  after  spending  fifteen  months  in 
the  river.  There  being  no  longer  a  "  parr  controversy,"  the 
next  specimen,  of  the  same  shoal  as  this  one,  Avill  illustrate 
the  difference  in  the  development  of  those  intended  to  become 
voyagers  on  the  second  spring  after  their  birth. 

This  fish,  of  the  same  shoal  and  age  as  the  parr,  is  the  part 
of  the  same  hatch  intended  for  visiting  the  sea  after  remain- 
ing only  one  summer  in  the  stream  of  its  birth.  Nature,  more 
careful  than  man  m  protecting  the  families  of  animal  creation, 


Getting  Eeady  for  Sea.    -  375 

sends  only  half  the  shoal  to  sea  at  a  time ;  the  remaining 
part  of  the  shoal  will  follow  next  year,  or  perhaps  a  few  will 
remain  three  summers  in  the  river  before  resorting  to  marine 


L 


A  Smolt  Fifteen  Months  Old. 

feeding-grounds.  In  the  mean  time  we  lose  sight  of  the  first 
detachment,  which  falls  back  from  pool  to  pool,  and  descends 
rapids  and  falls  tail  foremost  until  it  arrives  in  the  estuary, 
where  it  faces  to  the  right  about  and  prepares  to  protect 
itself  from  the  monsters  of  the  deep.  For  some  days,  and 
perhaps  weeks,  it  dallies  in  the  lower  reaches  and  estuary, 
feeding  on  small  caplin,  shrimp,  and  the  roe  of  coarser  fish  un- 
til its  burnished  sides  form  an  armor  to  protect  it  against  the 
})riny  deep.  Where  the  marine  feeding-grounds  of  the  sal- 
mon are  it  is  impossible  to  state  from  indubitable  data.  Sal- 
mon are  sometimes  found  in  soundings  off  the  Isle  of  Jersey, 
several  hundred  miles  from  any  salmon  river,  and  yet  in  Can- 
ada the  netters  capture  all  their  fishes  approaching  their  riv- 
ers on  the  north  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence  from  the  west, 
when  the  sea  is  at  the  east.  That  this  genre  of  fishes,  like  all 
others  habitually  visiting  fresh-water  streams  to  spawn,  re- 
turn and  enter  the  rivers  of  their  birth,  is  well  authenticated, 
while  it  has  been  satisfactorily  proven  that  if  scared  away 
from  the  estuary  by  nets  or  other  unnatural  fixtures  they 
will  enter  other  rivers. 

In  the  physical  transmutations  of  the  salmon,  from  the  time 
it  breaks  the  Qgg  and  hides  about  in  crevices  with  a  part  of 
the  egg  attached  to  its  abdomen,  to  the  time  when  it  fully 
matures  into  an  adult  salmon,  there  is  no  form  it  takes  which 
is  so  graceful  and  beautiful  as  that  of  the  grilse,  the  last  stage 


376  Fishing  in  Amebic  an  Waters. 

short  of  the  mature  salmon.  A  shoal  of  them  is  like  a  joy- 
ous ball-party  in  full  costume.  It  lacks  the  embonpoint  of 
the  salmon  as  much  as  the  young  people  of  a  gay  ball-party 
do  that  of  their  parents.  The  grilse — when  attached  to  a 
hook^plays  more  gayly  and  with  less  judgment  than  does 
the  full-grown  salmon,  skipping  about  and  playing  with  great 
energy,  and  never  stopping  to  sulk,  or,  more  properly,  to  study 
the  cause  of  its  grief,  until  it  gayly  darts  up  to  the  gaffer  and 
falls  an  easy  prey,  as  does  the  coquette  to  the  practiced  skill 
of  a  heart-thief 


The  Grilse. 

The  grilse  is  the  same  fish  which  left  its  river  as  a  smolt.  In 
its  ocean  pastures,  where  it  has  spent  one  or  two  winters,  it  has 
doffed  the<jlumsy  guise  of  puppyhood,  and  the  top  of  its  head, 
dorsal,  and  caudalhave  become  velvety, while  the  black  beads 
on  its  gills  and  upper  mandible  begin  to  appear.  It  lacks 
the  jetty  intensity  which  the  top  of  the  head  and  some  of  the 
fins  of  the  adult  salmon  disclose,  but  its  white  is  equal  in 
satiny  sheen  to  the  salmon  of  best  condition.  Its  weight  is 
from  five  to  eight  pounds,  and,  having  never  spawned,  it  fol- 
lows the  salmon  up  toward  the  spawning-pools  at  the  head  of 
the  stream,  reaching  them  toward  the  end  of  the  spawning 
season ;  and  after  spawning,  the  next  spring,  during  its  early 
rains,  or  in  winter  before,  it  falls  back  again  over  cataract  and 
rapid  until  it  gains  the  estuary,  to  return  to  sea,  and  fatten, 
and  enlarge  to  a  veritable  salmon. 

Thus  the  reader  may  have  seen  that  the  fingerling  becomes 
the  parr,  the  parr  develops  scales  to  cover  the  bars  on  its 
sides  and  becomes  a  smolt,  goes  to  sea  and  returns  a  grilse, 
then  returns  to  sea  and  comes  back  a  salmon. 


SuPEKioRiTY  Unchallenged. 


377 


The  Salmon. 

I  have  endeavored  to  illustrate  the  marks  and  forms  of  the 
salmon  in  its  different  stages,  concluding  that  pictorial  illus- 
trations from  life  are  more  comprehensible  than  explanations 
in  letter-press,  especially  to  the  student  at  angling,  who  has 
not  enjoyed  many  summers  since  he  first  wet  a  line  for  sal- 
mon, and  heard  the  beautiful  music  of  the  reel,  so  charmingly 
described  by  Stoddart ; 

"  A  whirr !  a  whur  I  the  salmon's  out 

Far  on  the  rushing  river  ; 
ite  storms  the  stream  with  edge  of  might, 
And,  like  a  brandished  sword  of  light, 
Rolls  plashing  o'er  the  surges  white, 

A  desperate  endeavor ! 
Hark  to  the  music  of  the  reel ! 

The  fitful  and  the  grating; 
It  pants  along  the  breathless  wheel, 

Now  hurried,  now  abating." 


The  Sword-fish. 


iJ78  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


CHAPTER  y. 
FISH  PROPAGATION  ASSISTED  BY  ART. 

As  fish-culture  assisted  by  art  has  become  a  business  of 
magnitude  in  France,  and  in  England  increased  the  revenue 
from  salmon-waters  over  a  hundred  per  cent.,*  and  as  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  rivers  and  lakes  of  the  United  States 
are  well  adapted  to  the  rapid  increase  of  the  genus  Salmo^ 
being  wooded,  shaded,  and  fed  by  living  springs,!  what  excuse 
is  there  for  longer  delay  in  restocking  the  rivers  which  used 
to  teem  with  salmon  and  trout,  and  stocking  anew  those 
many  waters  wherein  fishes  of  the  genus  Salmo  would  thrive  ? 
It  is'  true,  the  inhabitants  of  the  New  England  States  are 
hopefully  in  earnest,  and  anxious  to  stock  and  protect  their 
salmon  and  trout  waters,  and  have  appointed  a  competent 
Fisheries'  Commission,  including  the  following  gentlemen : 

Maine — Charles  G.  Atkins,  Augusta ;  N.  W.  Foster,  East 
Machias. 

New  Hampshire — Hon.  H.  A.  Bellows  (chairman),  Concord; 
"W.  A.  Sanborn,  Weir's. 

Yefrmont — Prof.  A.  D.  Hagar,  Proctorsville  ;  Hon.  Charles 
Barrett,  Grafton. 

Massachusetts — Alfred  K.  Field,  Greenfield ;  Theodore  Ly- 
man (secretary),  Brookline. 

Gmmecticut — H.  Woodward,  Middletown ;  James  Rankin, 
Old  Saybrook. 

But  this  question  is  equally  applicable  to  the  State  of  New 

*  The  fishing  rental  of  the  Tay  in  1852  was  less  than  $40,000  ;  in  1864  it 
liad  risen  to  $75,000,  and  this  year  il  is  over  $100,000. 

t  "Let  any  one  look  at  the  map  of  New  England,  with  its  thousands  lakes 
and  rivers,  and  imagine  what  riches  ought  to  dwell  in  those  waters. " — N.  E. 
Fisheries'  Report. 


Cleab  Steea^is  and  build  Fish-passes.  379 

York  and  the  vast  West,  especially  those  waters  running 
northward  and  eastward,  all  of  which  may,  with  a  trifling  ex- 
pense, be  made  alive  with  shining  shoals  of  the  mighty  sal- 
mon and  the  beautiful  speckled  trout. 

It  is  also  important  to  assist  the  propagation  of  other  food- 
fishes  by  artificial  means.  Legislatures  should  appropriate 
sums  for  these  pressing  objects,  which  not  only  cheapen 
meats,  but  add  to  the  variety  of  food  a  source  of  health  as 
well  as  luxury,  and  so  cheapen  it  as  to  bring  it  within  the 
means  of  all. 

Next  in  importance  to  artificial  propagation  is  the  purify- 
ing of  rivers  from  the  numerous  pollutions  incident  to  a  care- 
less procedure  in  manufacturing,  where  poisonous  minerals, 
tan-bark,  sawdust,  etc.,  drain  into  the  streams,  instead  of  be- 
ing conducted  away  from  them  or  consumed.  Commensurate 
in  importance  with  the  purification  of  the  rivers  are  properly- 
constructed  fish-passes,  to  enable  a  salmon  to  surmount  dams 
and  falls  to  reach  their  spawning-pools  at  the  heads  of  streams, 
for  without  such  means  procreation  can  not  go  forward,  and 
of  the  first  stock  few  may  be  taken  in  the  same  river,  but 
the  greater  number  will  seek  more  accessible  spawning-beds 
at  the  heads  of  other  rivers. 

Of  the  numerous  reasons  in  favor  of  artificial  propagation, 

tthe  following  are  not  the  least  important : 
It  has  been  proven  by  experiment  that  of  salmon  not  more 
than  one  in  a  thousand  hatched  naturally  arrive  at  maturity. 
Of  trout,  it  is  probable  that  double  that  proportion  mature, 
for  the  present  experiment  of  propagating  trout  and  salmon 
side  by  side  in  Australia  proves  that  trout  thrive  best,  and 
L  are  what  Lord  Dundreary  would  call  "the  most  wobust." 
I     But  the  ranks  of  the  speckled  beauties  in  our  trout-streams 

■  and  ponds  have  been  eliminated,  and  require  filling  up.    This 

■  can  not  be  done  without  the  assistance  of  art.  Let  us  sup- 
1.  pose  that  a  pond  which  is  supplied  by  streams  suitable  for 
m'  spawning  is  stocked  with  five  hundred  trout,  each  of  which 

■  weighs  a  pound.     In  the  course  of  one  season  they  will  de- 

L 


380  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

posit  250,000  ova.  Granting  that  a  considerable  por.tion  of 
these  are  hatched,  is  it  ever  found  that  a  fiftieth  or  a  hun- 
dredth part  of  the  whole  arrive  at  maturity?  Far  from  this 
being  the  case,  the  number  of  trout  will  continue  almost  the 
same  for  years,  without  any  perceptible  increase.  The  rea- 
son is  plain.  So  soon  as  the  fry  are  hatched,  they  are  exposed 
to  the  attacks  of  the  parent  trout.  Within  the  limits  of  the 
reservoir  there  is  not  the  remotest  chance  of  their  ultimate 
escape.  It  is  true,  if  the  fingerlings  knew  enough,  they  might 
ascend  the  tributaries  of  the  preserve  to  shoals  where  the 
parent  trout  could  not  follow ;  but  they  do  not  know,  and 
man,  being  placed  over  the  kingdoms  of  inferior  animals, 
should  preserve  them  for  his  own  good.  Salmon  which 
spawn  in  the  natural  waters  generally  go  to  the  heads  of 
the  streams  during  the  fall  floods  and  deposit  their  spawn ; 
when  the  waters  subside,  the  ova  is  sometimes  destroyed  by 
being  left  on  dry  land.  Other  fish  deposit  their  spawn  and 
cover  it  on  prior  beds  of  spawn.  Others  spawn  in  the  cur- 
rent of  the  stream,  and  a  freshet  carries  it  down  the  current 
as  food  for  all  the  inhabitants  below.  In  other  cases  the  fe- 
male salmon  makes  her  spawning-bed,  and  deposits  and  cov- 
ers up  the  ova,  while  the  male  fish  is  down  at  the  foot  of  the 
pool  guarding  it  from  the  incursions  of  an  army  of  water- 
guerrillas.  Sometimes  the  place  in  the  stream  selected  for 
the  spawning-bed  is  very  good  while  preparing  the  trenches 
for  the  spawn,  but  by  the  time  the  spawn  is  deposited  the 
stream  has  become  a  torrent,  and  washes  away  the  ova ;  and 
yet — just  like  a  headstrong  specimen  of  humanity — if  the  fe- 
male makes  up  her  mind  that  she  will  spawn  at  a  place,  the 
rapidity  of  the  flood  of  water  never  daunts  her,  though  tlie 
swiftness  of  the  current  prevents  the  roe  from  ever  touching 
bottom.  Long  IslanA  is  formed  of  a  net- work  tracery  of  trout- 
streams,  and  yet  there  are  but  ten  establishments  for  the  arti- 
ficial propagation  of  trout.  Some  proprietors  and  the  poach- 
ers of  the  island  capture  trout  in  winter  to  stock  ponds  which 
are  kept  for  the  commercial  advantages  of  letting  them  to  be 


Subjects  for  Consideration.  *  381 

fished  by  amateurs  with  the  fly,  or  the  trout  are  fed,  and  then 
netted  and  taken  to  market.  There  is  no  general  attention 
paid  to  the  procreation  of  the  speckled  beauties.  •  Many  of 
the  best  preserves  on  the  island  are  depleted  of  trout  by  sheer 
neglect.  They  should  divide  their  ponds,  and  catch  their 
large  trout  and  use  them  for  stocking  subsidiary  waters.  In 
a  word,  they  should  tap  their  dams  with  pipes,  and  conduct 
water  into  spawning-boxes.  Where  their  dams  are  near  a 
road  or  turnpike,  they  should  run  the  pipes  underneath,  or 
place  their  boxes  along  the  embankment  of  the  dam  in  such 
position  as  to  form  a  rather  swift  flow  of  water  throughout 
the  line  of  boxes.  Nothing  can  be  more  simple  or  safe.  The 
trout  hatched  in  that  way  should  be  placed  in  small  ponds, 
each  brood  by  itself,  thus  necessitating  three  of  these  small 
ponds.  As  each  brood  arrives  at  two  years  of  age,  it  should 
be  turned  into  the  main  preserve,  and  that  preserve  should 
be  swept  annually  with  a  Urge-meshed  net,  and  all  the  large 
trout  so  taken  should  be  transferred  to  the  pond  of  propaga- 
tion, which  should  be  watched  during  spawning-time  —  in 
September,  October,  and  November — and  when  found  ripe 
for  spawning  they  should  be  netted,  and  the  roe  and  milt 
taken  from  them  and  laid  in  the  breeding-boxes. 

Before  proceeding  farther,  let  me  say  here  that  what  I  may 
state  about  propagating  salmon  is  equally  applicable  to 
brook  trout,  for  the  only  difierence  in  the  treatment  of  sal- 
mon and  brook  trout  is  found  in  the  fact  that  trout  will  al- 
ways prey  upon  roe  and  young  fish — even  its  own — while 
only  the  salmon  kelt  is  so  unnatural;  but  this  maternal  ob- 
tuseness  is  supposed  to  be  acquired  from  not  returning  to 
sea  with  her  brood,  and,  thus  left  to  the  mercy  of  fresh-water 
insects  and  the  scanty  food  of  the  river,  she  becomes  what 
the  habitans  of  Canada  call  a  "  meagre^'*  with  no  more  soul 
than  a  miser. 


382  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


BEST  WATER  FOR  HATCHING   SALMON. 

Spring  water  from  45°  to  55°  is  probably  the  best.  Spring 
water  is  preferable,  as  being  more  pure  than  river  water  even 
after  being  filtered,  while  its  temperature  is  more  equable, 
being  nearer  the  same  throughout  the  year.  Too  much  sur- 
face or  rain  water  is  injurious,  containing  less  vitality  for 
game  fish,  but  more  predaceous  insects,  so  that  their  larvae 
may  be  mixed  with  the  eggs  in  the  hatching-boxes,  and  prey 
on  the  spawn  before  it  is  hatched. 

In  situations  where  spring  water  can  not  be  obtained  in 
sufficient  quantities,  the  river  water  should  pass  through  a 
filter  of  sand  and  gravel.  If  the  spring  is  large  enough  and 
the  ground  suitable,  it  may  be  divided  into  artificial  rills, 
with  a  pipe  of  two  inches  run  of  water  to  each.  Under  all 
circumstances,  a  gentle,  equable,  and  pure  current  is  indis- 
pensable. 

HATCHING-BOXES  FOR  THE  INCUBATION  OF  THE    EGGS   OP   SAL- 
MON OR  TROUT,  AS  ADOPTED  BY  THE  COLLEGE  OF  FRANCE. 

These  boxes  are  fed  from  a  horizontal  pipe  two  inches  in 
diameter,  by  faucets  tapping  it  at  every  tier  of  five  boxes ; 
and  to  break  the  force  of  the  jet  so  that  it  will  not  derange 
the  ova  in  the  first  box,  and  to  assist  in  aeration,  a  perforated 
zinc  cap  is  sometimes  placed  before  it,  as  the  object  is  to 
maintain  a  regular  movement  of  the  current  throughout  the 
tier  of  boxes,  which  are  about  six  feet  long  and  two  and  a 
half  wide.  A  constant  flow  of  water,  of  nearly  equal  temper- 
ature, through  the  boxes  is  a  necessity.  At  Huningue,  in 
France,  all  the  hatching-boxes  are  in  a  well-ventilated  build- 
ing ;  and  as  hatching-time  continues  from  October  until  Feb- 
ruary, a  cover  to  the  hatching-boxes  is  essential ;  and  in  En- 
gland, to  protect  the  ova  from  thieves,  Mr.  Francis  recom- 
mended a  cover  of  perforated  zinc,  with  the  ends  which  are 
above  the  water  of  zinc  also ;  and  in  order  to  regulate  the 
temperature  of  the  water,  the  horizontal  pipe  should  be  sup- 


A  Link  in  animate  ]N"attjke. 


383 


plied  from  a  reservoir  by  a  pipe  running  through  a  dry-air 
refrigerator  (or  through  a  chest  filled  with  ice),  by  which 
modern  American  invention  the  temperature  may  be  regu- 
lated at  any  degree  required  between  freezing  and  ten  de- 
grees below  zero.  The  pipe  should  be  coiled  in  the  refrig- 
erator. 

The  aquarium  presented  above  is  the  one  selected  by  the 
College  of  France  from  numerous  samples,  and  it^as  proved 
a  success;  but  the  object  of  it  is  more  especially  for  studying 
the  eggs  during  the  time  of  incubation.     The  water  is  there- 


384 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


fore  nearly  all  husbanded  after  it  passes  through  the  boxes 
by  catching  it  in  a  marble  trough  and  sending  it  back  to  the 
supply  reservoir  by  a  pipe  from  a  hydraulic  ram,  or  a  turbine 
like  that  by  which  many  reservoirs  are  supplied  from  rivers 
or  springs.  These  plans  of  aeration  enable  fish-culturists  to 
run  the  same  water  several  times  over  the  hatching-boxes ; 
but  it  is  thought  by  some  professors  that — for  perfect  safety 
to  the  ova — the  water  should  be  continually  renewed,  and  not 
flow  over  them  a  second  time. 

In  establishments  of  fish-culture  like  the  government  one 
at  Huningue,  they  endeavor  to  imitate  nature  more  perfectly 
than  it  can  be  done  by  a  tier  of  boxes.  They  therefore  build 
a  race-way  thirty  feet  long,  a  yard  wide,  and  eight  inches 
deep,  as  the  trout-brook,  and  the  fountain  of  equal  tempera- 
ture feeding  it  by  pipes  is  the  spring.  'In  this  race-way  are 
placed  crosswise  numerous  trays  of  terra-cotta,  glazed  inside 
to  prevent  contact  of  confervae  with  the  ova,  and  in  which,  to 
a  frame  of  wood,  glass  tubes  are  fitted,  and  called  a  gril^  the 
French  name  for  gridiron.  The  tray  is  six  inches  wide,  four 
inches  deep,  and  as  long  as  the  race-way  is.  wide.  Both  the 
tray  and  the  grille  may  be  moved  with  ease  to  another  race- 
way, or  the  grille  may  be  moved  to  clean  the  bottom  of  the 
tray  or  for  other  purpose.  The  following  cut  may  help  illus- 
trate. 


Fig.  1.  Terra-cotta  Tray,  to  fit  crosswise  in  race-way.     Fig.  2.  Grille  of  glass  tubes, 
made  to  fit  in  tlie  tray.    Fig.  3.  Race-way,  as  wide  inside  as  the  length  of  the  tray. 


Prevent  evil  Contiguity. 


385 


After  the  roe  becomes  fructified  by  the  milt,  the  case  of 
grilles,  Fig.  2,  is  placed  in  the  tray,  and  then  deposited  cross- 
wise in  the  race-way,  where  the  tray  is  mechanically  confined, 
when  the  ova  is  emptied  on  the  glass  grille,  and  left  for  nature 
to  do  the  rest,  only  seeing  that  the  water  continues  to  form  a 
stream  like  a  natural  brook  through  the  race-way,  and  that 
the  light  be  never  glaring  or  the  temperature  of  the  water 
too  high,  bearing  in  mind  that  there  will  be  several  degrees 
of  difierence  between  the  water  at  the  head  and  foot  of  the 
way. 

The  grilles  should  be  examined  daily,  and  any  addled  or 
dead  eggs  removed  from  contact  with  others.  This  should 
be  done  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  other  eggs,  as  great  quiet 
during  the  months  of  incubation  is  necessary. 

The  following  cut  represents  the  implements  for  removing 
dead  eggs. 


Fig.l.  The  Siphon,  used  for  (jxumiuiu<?  the  egsxs.    2.  Pincers  for  picking  out  dead  eggs. 
3.  Fine  brass  wire  for  taking  up  dead  eggs. 

The  siphon  is  used  in  France  to  draw  up  the  dead  eggs ; 
but,  as  it  generally  disturbs  so  many  of  the  live  ones,  its  gen- 
eral use  in  fish-culture  is  now  confined  to  examining  the  eggs, 
while  pincers  with  sharp-pointed  nibs  are  often  used  for  pick- 
ing out  the  dead  eggs ;  but  Mr.  Francis  states  in  his  "  Fish 
Culture" — a  small  but  very  useful  volume — "Some  use  a 

Bb 


386  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

small  needle  tied  to  a  stick ;  but  the  toughness  of  the  ova  re- 
sists the  prod  of  the  needle,  and  goes  on  slipping  about.  *  *  * 
The  best  plan,  by  very  far,  is  to  twist  up  a  piece  of  fine  brass 
wire  into  an  eye  just  big  enough  to  take  the  ova,  tie  it  to  a 
fine-pointed  handle,  bend  it  to  the  most  convenient  angle  for 
lifting,  softly  introduce  it  between  the  ova  and  under  the  one 
you  wish  to  withdraw,  and  fetch  it  out  swiftly,  but  steadily.'" 

special  directions  about  preparing  spawning-boxes. 

The  following  explanations  were  made  by  one  of  the  fish- 
cultijrists  engaged  on  the  Tay,  in  Scotland  : 

The  boxes  for  containing  the  ova  were  twenty-four,  in  num- 
ber, each  being  six  feet  long,  eighteen  inches  wide,  nine  inches 
deep,  and  open  at  the  top.  The  whole  were  disposed  in  a 
double  row,  parallel  with  the  original  course  of  the  rill.  Each 
row  consisted  of  twelve  boxes,  placed  end  to  end,  the  beds  of 
the  foremost  commencing  shortly  below  the  lower  end  of  the 
dam.  A  piece  of  three  inches  in  depth  and  nine  in  width  was 
cut  from  each  log,  in  order  to  allow  a  free  passage  for  the 
stream  through  the  whole  series.  At  the  junction  of  each 
box  was  nailed  a  sheet  of  tin,  with  turned-up  sides,  to  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  the  water.  A  couple  of  pipes,  a  yard  in 
length  and  two  inches  in  diameter,  conveyed  the  stream  to 
the  foremost  box  in  each  row,  the  end  of  the  pipes  inserted  in 
the  dam  being  covered  with  fine  wire  gauze  to  prevent  the 
entrance  of  trout  and  insects.  The  whole  were  arranged  on 
a  gentle  slope,  so  as  to  avoid  stagnation,  and  insure  a  tolera- 
bly rapid  flow  of  water. 

The  boxes  being  aiTanged,  a  strata  on  which  to  place  the 
ova  was  then  formed.  It  consisted  of  a  mixture  of  sand  and 
gravel,  of  the  depth  of  several  inches,  upon  which  were  de- 
posited pebbles  of  the  ordinary  size  of  road  metal.  When 
properly  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  ova,  the  stream  av- 
eraged two  inches  in  depth  above  the  pavement. 

At  a  short  distance  below  the  dam  two  ponds  were  con- 
structed to  contain  the  fiy,  the  one  receiving  the  stream  from 


New  Rules  in  Domestic  Circles. 


387 


the  double  row  of  boxes,  and  the  other  from  the  bed  of  the 
rill.  The  superficial  area  of  each  was  two  hundred  and  forty- 
yards,  being  much  too  small,  as  finally  ascertained,  for  the 
hosts  of  fry  with  which  they  were  ultimately  tenanted. 


secueing  the  ova  of  a  salmon. 

The  process  by  which  a  salmon  is  made  to  exude  its  roe  or 
milt  is  illustrated  by  the  engraving ;  but  the  abdomen  of  the 
fish  should  be  kept  under  water,  and  a  napkin  is  better  than 
the  naked  hand  wherewith  to  hold  the  tail.  It  being  diffi- 
cult to  hold  a  salmon,  three  persons  are  frequently  required. 
But  what  says  our  authority  ? 

In  order  to  obtain  the  spawn  in  a  perfectly  mature  state, 
the  fish  were  taken  from  the  spawning-bed  in  the  very  act  of 
its  deposition.  They  were  caught  with  nets  at  night.  When 
taken  they  were  instantly,  and  without  injury,  put  into  an 
oval  tub  one  fourth  full  of  water.  So  soon  as  a  pair  of  suita- 
ble fish  were  captured,  the  ova  from  the  female  was  immedi- 
ately discharged  into  the  tub  by  a  gentle  pressure  of  the 
hands  from  the  thorax  downward.    The  milt  of  the  male  was 


I 


ejected  in  a  similar  manner,  and  the  contents  of  the  tub  gen- 
tly stirred  with  the  hand.     After  the  lapse  of  a  minute  the 


388  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

water  was  poured  off,  with  the  exception  of  sufficient  to  keep 
the  ova  submerged,  and  fresh  supplied  in  its  place.  This  also 
was  poured  off,  and  fresh  substituted  previously  to  removing 
the  impregnated  spawn  to  the  boxes  prepared  for  its  recep- 
tion. 

In  discharging  the  ova  from  the  abdomen  of  the  female  all 
violence  was  carefully  avoided.  If,  on  examination,  the  ova 
were  found  to  be  immature,  the  fish  was  immediately  return- 
ed to  the  river,  and  others  in  a  more  advanced  stage  taken. 
When  a  sufficient  quantity  of  spawn  was  collected,  it  was  at 
once  removed  to  the  hatching-ground.  An  amount  propor- 
tioned to  the  size  of  the  boxes  was  carefully  poured  in  at  the 
head  of  each,  the  action  of  the  water  scattering  it  pretty 
equally  among  the  crevices  of  the  stones.  A  temporary  in- 
creased flow  of  the  stream  easily  distributed  it  wherever  it 
might  happen  to  be  too  closely  crowded  together.  Out  of 
24,000  roe  deposited  in  the  spawning-boxes,  20,000  were  suc- 
cessfully hatched. 


SALMON. 

As  owner  of  the  "  Longland  Fishery,"  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
Gillone  is  received  with  much  confidence  and  respect  through- 
out England.  "  In  the  first  place,"  he  states, "  we  have  one 
mill-dam  hecked  at  top  and  bottom."  (As  the  word  heck 
means  "  an  engine  or  instrument  for  catching  fish,"  we  sup- 
pose that  he  means  a  peculiar  net  or  singularly  constructed 
weir  for  preventing  trout  or  salmon  from  passing  it,  and  ren- 
dering them  liable  to  capture  in  the  attempt.)  The  upper 
part  of  the  dam  was  laid  with  gravel  suitable  for  salmon  or 
trout  to  spawn  in  naturally.  There  is  also  a  very  suitable 
stream  for  trout  or  salmon  to  deposit  their  spawn,  and,  so 
soon  as  our  fishing  season  is  about  to  close,  we  take  the  num- 
ber offish  required  to  fill  our  breeding-boxes  with  fecundated 
ova,  and  put  them  into  the  dam,  and  keep  them  there  until 
we  see  them  beginning  to  spawn.     (Spawning  is  sometimes 


ClPHEKING    SO   A£   TO   ESTIMATE.  38^ 

continued  for  several  days,  and  sometimes  weeks,  by  a  single 
pair  offish.  The  male  trout  or  male  salmon  sometimes  forces 
the  female  to  the  spawning-bed  before  all  the  ova  is  sufficient- 
ly matured  for  deposition.)  We  then  shut  down  our  upper 
sluice,  catch  and  examine  all  the  fish,  and  keep  in  a  large 
wooden  box  all  the  fish  ready  for  manipulation,  returning  the 
rest  to  the  dam  till  we  see  them  beginning  to  spawn  a  second 
time,  and  so  on  till  we  get  them  all  spawned. 

We  spawn  them  in  a  box  three  feet  six  inches  long,  seven 
inches  wide,  and  nine  inches  deep,  with  as  much.water  as  will 
cover  the  fish.  We  first  take  the  female  fish  from  a  large  box 
filled  with  water  close  at  hand,  lay  her  in  the  little  box  as  she 
swims  (that  is,  her  back  up),  taking  her  by  the  tail  with  the 
right  hand,  and  with  the  left  hand  gently  press  from  the  neck 
to  the  vent  until  you  get  all  the  roe  exuded.  We  then  joour 
off  about  half  the  water,  and  use  the  male  fish  the  same  way, 
mixing  the  milt  with  the  water  by  the  hand-  After  mixing 
the  ova,  we  have  a  large  filter  that  fits  the  neck  of  a  bottle, 
water-tight,  with  a  rim  of  wire  gauze  two  inches  deep.  We 
then  fill  the  bottle  and  filter  with  water;  then,  pouring  off  the 
greater  part  of  the  water  in  the  spawn-box,  we  empty  the  roe 
and  water  into  the  filter.  The  roe,  of  course,  sinks  into  the 
bottle ;  the  water  runs  off  through  the  wire  gauze,  and  pre- 
vents any  of  the  ova  from  being  spilled.  The  bottle  is  mark- 
ed off  in  divisions,  each  division  holding  800  eggs  of  an  aver- 
age size.  By  this  way  we  count  our  roe  with  little  trouble 
that  we  deposit  in  our  breeding-boxes.  In  putting  the  ova 
into  the  breeding-boxes,  I  have  a  tin  tube  that  fills  the  neck 
of  the  bottle,  tapering  to  about  a  half-inch  circle  at  the  top. 
This  tube  I  place  below  the  water  in  the  breeding-box,  and 
gradually  empty  the  roe  into  glass  jars.  Our  breeding-boxes 
are  two  in  number,  or  rather  a  continuation  of  one.  They 
are  laid  quite  level,  so  that  the  water  circulates  down  the  one 
and  up  the  other.  The  boxes  are  made  of  wood,  four  inches 
deep,  one  foot  wide,  and  the  length  of  the  two  boxes  com- 
bined is  135  feet.     These  boxes  are  supplied  with  frames  in- 


390  Fishing  in  Aa^ekican  Waters. 

side  each  three  feet  long,  filled  with  narrow  strips  of  glass, 
with  the  sharp  edges  ground  off  to  prevent  cutting  the  young 
fish.;  The  glass  is  laid  across  the  stream,  forming  gutters,  in 
which  the  ova  is  placed  in  rows  across  the  run  of  the  water; 
the  glass  is  supported  in  the  frames  three  quarters  of  an  inch 
from  the  bottom  of  the  box,  the  water  flowing  freely  both 
above  and  below  the  ova.  These  boxes  are  capable  of  hatch- 
ing at  a  time  15,000  salmon  or  trout.  This  season  we  have 
24,000  salmon  eggs  deposited  in  them,  and  the  eggs  are  be- 
coming quite  visible.  In  depositing  the  ova  in  the  several 
boxes,  I  keep  each  fish's  eggs  sej^arate,  and  marked  on  the 
boxes  1, 2,  3,  etc.  I  keep  corresponding  numbers  in  a  book, 
with  a  remark  on  each  fish's  roe  at  the  time  of  spawning ; 
and  during  the  time  of  incubation,  if  I  see  any  thing  worthy 
of  notice,  I  take  a  note  of  the  number  and  what  has  happened. 
I  pick  out  all  the  dead  ova  once  or  twice  a  week,  and  keep 
an  account  of  the  number,  and  when  the  hatching  is  finished 
I  subtract  the  number  of  the  dead  from  the  number  deposit- 
ed, which  will  show  about  the  quantity  we  have  hatched. 

CARE    IN    obtaining   FECUNDATED    SPAAVN. 

Whenever  practicable,  it  is  desirable  to  take  the  trout 
from  the  spawning-beds  by  means  of  nets,  so  as  to  insure  the 
maturity  of  the  ova.  It  can  best  be  done  in  the  night.  So 
soon  as  caught,  the  fish  should  be  placed  in  a  large  tub,  or 
other  vessel,  partially  filled  with  water,  till  a  milter  and 
spawner  are  taken.  In  ejecting  the  ova,  the  female  should 
first  be  held  over  a  bucket  or  large  tin  can  half  full  of  water, 
the  lower  end  of  the  abdomen  being  inserted  in  the  water, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  exposure  of  the  ova  to  the  air.  A 
gentle  pressure  of  the  hand  from  the  thorax  down  each  side 
of  the  abdomen  will  discharge  the  ova,  if  mature,  without  the 
least  injury  to  the  fish.  The  water  in  the  bucket  should  then 
be  reduced  to  three  or  four  quarts  previously  to  ejecting  the 
milt  of  the  male.  In  expelling  the  milt  the  course  pursued 
is  precisely  the  same  as  that  just  described,  the  lower  end  of 


Gently  urging  Nature. 


391 


blKU'l'lNCr   A    iiioi  r 


the  abdomen  being  in  this  case  also  inserted  in  the  water. 
After  stirring  the  contents  of  the  bucket  with  the  hand,  the 
water  should  be  poured  off  and  fresh  supplied  several  times 
in  succession,  until  no  trace  of  the  milt  can  be  seen,  always 
taking  care  to*  keep  the  ova  submerged.  The  spawn  may 
then  be  moved  to  the  hatching-ground  or  boxes ;  for  the  arti- 
ficial spawning-bed  may  be  made  in  a  ditch,  dug  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  paved,  and  supplied  through  pipes  with  water,  as 
well  as  in  boxes ;  but  experiments  have  given  the  preference 
to  boxes,  as  susceptible  of  forming  thereby  a  stream  more 
equal  in  flood,  volume,  and  temperature.  In  the  removal  of 
the  ova  for  a  short  distance,  it  is  unimportant  in  what  man- 
ner they  are  conveyed,  so  long  as  they  are  not  much  shaken. 
.In  transporting  ova  a  great  distance,  it  should  be  done  in 
the  winter  or  spring,  placed  in  tanks  lined  with  sponge  and 
swamp-moss,  with  an  aerating  pump  placed  in  it  for  frequent- 
ly moving  the  water,  changing  it,  and  exposing  it  to  the  air. 
Fecundated  ova  have  been  packed  in  moss  by  Seth  Green  and 
sent  by  mail  a  thousand  miles,  and  then  hatched  with  very 
small  loss. 


392  Fishing  in  American  Watees. 


A   SIMPLE   PROCESS   FOE  PEEPAEING  A   SPAWNING-BED. 

If  you  have  a  trout-pond,  taj)  it  at  the  sluice  in  the  dam 
with  several  pipes  of  two  inches  diameter,  covering  the  ends 
in  the  pond  with  fine  wire  gauze  to  exclude*  young  fish,  or 
the  eggs  of  such  fish  or  reptiles  as  are  enemies  to  trout.  Con- 
duct the  water  through  these  pipes  to  rows  of  boxes  about 
two  feet  wide  and  six  feet  long,  the  boxes  from  the  head  one 
nearest  the  dam  resting  two  inches  lower  than  the  one  which 
immediately  precedes  it,  so  as  to  produce  a  current  sufficient- 
ly swift  in  this  artificial  stream  formed  of  a  row,  or  several 
rows  of  boxes,  and  each  row  formed  of  half  a  dozen  boxes. 
One  pipe  to  supply  each  row  of  boxes,  and  then  you  may 
have  as  many  rows  of  boxes  as  you  have  water  to  supply, 
always  bearing  in  mind  that  the  water  must  run  continually. 
The  waste  water,  after  it  leaves  the  boxes,  may  be  conducted- 
by  a  ditch  into  the  brook  below  the  dam,  or  into  a  pond  pre- 
pared to  receive  the  young  trout.  The  bottoms  of  the  boxes 
are  next  covered  to  the  depth  of  a  couple  of  inches  with  sand 
and  small  pebbles,  upon  which  is  laid  a  pavement  of  stones 
from  three  to  six  inches  in  diameter.  The  water  should  be 
as  much  as  two  inches  deep  above  this  pavement,  and  fill  the 
boxes  two  thirds  full.  The  boxes  are  open  at  the  top.  Then 
pour  the  fecundated  roe  equally  over  the  paved  bottom  of 
each  box,  and  it  will  soon  find  its  way  into  the  crevices  of 
the  stony  bottom,  and  within  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  days 
the  trout  will  be  hatched,  and  a  bag  connected  to  the  abdo- 
men by  an  umbilical  cord  contains  sustenance  sufficient  for 
forty  days,  after  which  the  tiny  creature  begins  to  seek  food,, 
and  should  be  removed  to  its  pond. 

FEEDING   YOUNG  TEOUT   OE   SALMON. 

After  the  absorption  of  the  abdominal  vesicle,  the  fry  re- 
quire food  of  a  fine  and  nourishing  kind — crumbs  of  boiled 
liver  in  small  particles,  minced  meat  or  fish  of  any  kind,  or  a 
pate  of  the  intestines  of  any  animal  or  fowl ;  horse-flesh  is 


Food  of  easy  Digestion.  393^ 


very  good ;  cheese-curd,  farinaceous  food,  may  be  mixed  and 
all  put  in  solution,  and  fed  to  the  tiny  things  through  a  syr- 
inge ;  maggots — called  gentles — a  bait  for  sale  at  all  the  rod- 
fishing  places  in  Europe,  and  the  larva?  and  flies  of  the  season, 
form  good  food  after  the  fish  are  two  months  old. 

STOCKING   OLD   PONDS   WITH   TKOUT. 

Old  ponds,  even  if  inhabited  by  trout,  are  apt  to  fill  with 
weeds,  which  grow  from  all  parts  of  the  bottom  except  the 
channel  cut  by  the  creek  flowing  through  it ;  and  if  the  stream 
be  too  small  compared  with  the  size  of  the  pond,  so  that  the 
water  is  not  renewed  sufficiently  often,  then  the  eels,  sunfish, 
perch,  and  pike  are  apt  to  accumulate,  to  the  ultimate  exter- 
mination of  the  trout.  It  becomes  necessary,  therefore,  before 
stocking  an  old  pond,  that  the  water  be  drawn  off  and  the 
bottom  of  the  pond  thoroughly  cleaned.  The  expense  of 
cleaning  a  pond  is  partially  paid  by  the  manure  thus  ob- 
tained. Some  persons,  after  cleaning  a  pond,  sow  the  bottom 
with  lime  and  salt.  The  creek  should  also  be  cleaned  up  to 
its  source  by  sweeping  it  with  small-meshed  nets ;  but  all  its 
shades  on  the  margin  of  the  stream,  and  its  hiding-places  of 
rocks  and  stones  in  the  stream,  should  be  left,  and  pegs  or 


394  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

piles  driven  into  the  bottom,  leaving  the  tops  of  them  a  foot 
or  so  above  the  bottom,  to  prevent  poachers  from  netting  the 
pond  or  stream.  The  dam  may  or  may  not  be  constructed 
so  as  to  permit  the  trout  to  follow  down  the  stream  to  its 
estuary  and  return  at  will.  This  would  depend  upon  agree- 
ment between  the  different  owners  of  the  stream.  But  when 
the  stream  debouches  into  a  bay  or  river  of  salt-water,  a  tum- 
bling dam  offers  an  inducement  to  smelt,  herring,  etc.,  to 
spawn  in  the  pond,  and  thus  stock  it  with  the  best  feed  pos- 
sible for  trout,  for  those  trout  which  feed  on  shrimp,  smelt, 
spearing,  young  tierring,  and  the  roe  of  fishes  are  always  su- 
perior to  such  as  feed  on  worms  brought  down  the  stream  by 
a  freshet.  Although  one  of  the  principal  charms  of  the  trout 
is  that  he  feeds  on  the  flies  which  swarm  on  the  surface  of 
the  water,  thus  enlivening  and  beautifying  the  water  by 
breaking  to  the  surface  and  formirig  numerous  wakes  of  large 
circles,  and  sometimes  rising  above  the  surface  and  disclosing 
miniature  rainbows  of  amber  and  gold,  yet  there  are  times 
when  he  prefers  something  more  substantial,  and  will  not 
touch  a  fly.  In  this  he  imitates  humanity,  which  requires 
roast  beef,  as  well  as  plum-pudding  and  omelette  soufflee.  So 
the  trout  requires  his  piece  de  resistance  of  something  more 
substantial  than  flies. 

Dubravius,  Dr.  Lebault,  and  many  piscatorial  professors, 
dwell  at  great  length  upon  jDreparing  fish-ponds  and  taking 
care  of  them.  We  therefore  extract  the  gist  of  their  advice, 
intermingled  with  our  own,  as  follows :  A  pond  intended  for 
either  profit  or  pleasure  should  be  cleansed  once  every  three 
or  four  years,  especially  if  large  compared  with  the  stream 
by  which  it  is  fed,  or  if  sustained  by  more  surface-water  than 
of  spring-water.  It  should  be  drained  and  lie  dry  six  or 
twelve  months,  both  to  kill  the  water-weeds  and  the  animals 
which  feed  on  trout  and  its  roe.  The  letting  your  pond  dry 
and  sowing  oats  in  the  bottom  is  also  good,  for  it  purifies  the 
bottom  of  the  pond. 

In  reconstructing  your  pond  after  drahiing  it,  and  having 


Habitations  fok  Tkojjt.  395 

made  the  earth  firm  where  the  head  of  the  pond  must  be,  Le- 
bault  advises  that  you  drive  in  two  or  three  rows  of  oak  or 
elm  piles,  which  should  be  scorched  in  the  fire  or  half  burned 
before  they  be  driven  in  the  earth,  for  being  thus  used  it  pre- 
serves them  much  longer  fr^m  rotting ;  and  having  done  so, 
lay  fagots  or  bavins  of  smaller  wood  between  them,  and 
then  earth  between  and  above  them ;  and  then,  having  first 
very  well  rammed  them  and  the  earth,  use  another  pile  in 
like  manner  as  the  first  were,  and  note  that  the  second  pile 
is  to  be  of  or  about  the  same  height  that  you  intend  to  make 
your  sluice  or  flood-gate,  or  the  vent  that  you  intend  shall 
convey  the  overflowings  of  your  pond,  or  any  flood  that  shall 
threaten  to  break  the  pond  dam.  Then  he  advises  the  plant- 
ing of  willows  and  osiers  about  the  dam,  and  cast  in  charred 
logs  not  far  from  the  side,  as  also  upon  the  sandy  places,  in 
order  to  protect  spawning-beds  and  form  hiding-places  for 
the  small  fry.  All  ponds  should  contain  places  of  gravel  bot- 
tom, and  places  sandy  and  shallow,  where  trout  may  disport 
themselves  and  burnish  their  sides.  Fish  should  also  have 
retiring-places,  such  as  hollow  banks,  or  shelves,  or  roots  of 
trees,  to  keep  them  from  danger,  and  to  shade  them  at  times 
during  the  day  in  the  extreme  heat  of  summer,  also  from  the 
extremity  of  cold  in  winter.  If  too  many  trees  grow  about 
your  pond,  the  leaves,  falling  into  the  watcB,  will  impreg- 
nate it  and  injure  the  flavor  of  the  fish.  Although  towering 
trees  form  too  dense  a  shade,  and  the  foliage  is  bad  for  the 
stream,  while  they  yield  cover  to  invite  winged  game  and 
the  consequent  gunner,  yet  shooting  much  about  a  fish-pre- 
serve is  injurious,  and  I  would  advise  the  planting  of  willow 
and  alder  to  partially  shade  the  stream  or  pond,  and  render 
firm  the  shores. 

Two  trout-ponds  are  more  profitable  than  one  of  the  same 
area  as  the  two,  because  they  may  be  cleaned  alternately, 
and  the  trout  turned  into  one  while  the  other  is  under  clean- 
ing process. 

In  small  ponds,  or  ponds  where  the  small  fry  of  commoi; 


396  Fishing  in  American  Wateks. 

fish  often  form  food  for  trout,  Lebault  advises  the  feeding  of 
trout  by  throwing  into  the  pond  chippings  of  bread,  curds, 
grains,  or  the  entrails  of  chickens,  or  of  any  bird  or  beast  you 
kill  to  feed  yourselves.  On  the  score  of  feeding  trout  in  pre- 
serves, our  experience  is  that  they  are  generally  fed  too  much. 
In  ponds  where  feed  is  scarce,  living  bait  should  be  thrown 
in,  such  as  minnows,  mummies,  shrimp,  and  all  kinds  of  fisli 
which  nature  intended  for  bait  by  forbidding  them  ever  to 
become  more  than  three  inches  in  length.  But  even  this 
should  be  done  sparingly.  We  have  known  several  ponds  on 
Long  Island  where  the  fish  died  while  they  were  fed  sump- 
tuously, and  when  dead  were  found  to  be  in  excellent  condi- 
tion. "We  regret  to  state  that  some  animals  endowed  with 
the  exterior  semblance  of  humanity  keep  trout-ponds,  and  pre- 
tend that  they  are  waters  intended  for  the  propagation  of 
trout,  when,  in  reality,  they  are  pounds,  or  liquid  bastiles, 
wherein  to  imprison  trout  until  they  command  a  high  price 
in  Fulton  Market.  When  they  get  orders  for  them,  they  at 
once  feed  them  with  a  huge  meal  of  mummies  (small  fish), 
and  when  the  trout  have  gorged  themselves  so  that,  in  some 
instances,  the  tails  of  the  fish  which  the  trout  vainly  endeav- 
ored to  swallow  are  seen  protruding  from  their  mouths,  these 
Peter  Funks  then  sweep  the  pond  with  a  net,  and  send  the 
trout  thus  stuffed  to  market,  and  receive  therefor  the  price 
which  healthy  trout  command.  During  the  past  season  one 
dollar  and  a  half  a  pound  has  frequently  been  paid  for  trout 
bought  at  wholesale.  It  is  said  that  these  Peter  Funks  rob 
the  trout-streams  of  their  neighborhoods  by  means  of  nets 
during  the  close  season — between  the  first  of  September  and 
the  first  of  March — and  deposit  their  stolen  gains  in  liquid 
pounds,  where  they  feed  them  until  the  market  opens,  for  it 
is  unlawful  to  catch  or  sell  trout  during  the  close  season,  ex- 
cept for  the  purpose  of  science  or  the  object  of  propagation. 


The  vkry  latest  Methods. 


397 


SECTION  SECOND. 
ainswoeth's  eace  and  sceeens. 


^mmm^^&09iSii 


A.  Top  of  Eace.    B.  Water  Level 
Bottom  of  Eace. 


C.  Upper  Screeu,  or  Sieve 
G.  Supply  Pond.    H.  Filtering  Gate, 


D.  Under  Screen. 


The  Upper  Screen  is  represented  from  the  gronnd-plan,  in  order  to  show  the  form  of 
the  perforated  bottom,  and  the  same  after  paving  it  with  pebbles.  The  bottom  of 
the  Kace  is  also  represented  from  the  same  view ;  but  the  side  only  of  the  Under 
Screen  is  represented.  The  whole  is  suggestive,  calling  for  judgment  and  science 
in  construction. 

The  object  of  this  invention  is  to  induce  trout  to  spawn  where 
the  fish-culturist  may  gather  the  eggs  and  protect  them 
until  he  can  transfer  them  to  the  hatching-boxes  once  or 
twice  a  week,  and  it  is  a  valuable  step  on  the  road  of  aqua- 
culture  toward  husbanding  all  the  resources  of  a  stream. 
The  object  is  to  form  a  race-way  of  water  in  a  stream  of 
moderate  flow,  and  divide  this  race  into  three  compart- 
ments. Those  are  the  bottom  of  the  race  paved  with  cob- 
ble-stones, E ;  a  few  inches  above  it,  and  of  the  same  width, 
is  the  lower  screen  or  sieve,  D ;  a  few  inches  above  which 
is  the  upper  screen,  C.  Trout  have  access  to  screen  C  for 
spawning,  and  as  the  bottom  of  it  is  perforated  with  holes 
twice  as  large  as  a  trout's  egg,  of  course  the  eggs  laid  on 
it  will  run  through  the  bottom  of  the  screen  and  lodge  on 
the  under  one,  which  is  perforated  with  very  small  holes 
to  drain  it,  but  not  pass  the  eggs.  Screen  C  is  divided  into 
trays,  with  handles  at  the  sides  for  removing  them  by  the 
hand;  the  bottom  is  then  covered  with  pebbles,  as  indi- 


398  Fishing  in  Ajvierican  Waters. 

cated  by  the  upper  half  of  the  screen ;  the  lower,  or  left 
half,  merely  represents  the  perforated  bottom  of  zinc. 
Screen  D,  for  catching  the  fecundated  eggs,  is  the  same 
width  and  length  as  C,  divided  into  trays  also*for  remov- 
ing their  contents  conveniently. 
The  engraving  represents  the  race  from  the  supply  pond  half 
way  to  the  outlet  of  the  race  into  the  creek  or  lower  pond. 
'  Screen  C  is  open  at  each  end,  so  that  trout  from  the  creek 
below  or  the  pond  above  may  enter  freely,  it  being  an  ar- 
tificial imitation  of  a  natural  spawning-bed.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  inventor's  description  : 

"  This  race  may  be  built  like  the  races  made  for  the  artificial 
impregnation  of  spawn  used  by  nearly  all  trout-breeders  to  en- 
tice the  trout  up  from  the  pond  to  spawn.  It  can  be  made 
of  any  length  from  10  to  50  feet,  and  from  2  to  6  feet  wide, 
according  to  the  number  of  trout  which  are  to  use  it,  and  the 
amount  of  water  for  the  supply  of  the  pond.  It  should  be 
made  with  plank  sides  and  bottom,  so  tight  as  to  keep  out  all 
sediment.  Paving  the  bottom  nicely  with  small  stones  will 
answer.  The  bottom,  whether  of  plank  or  stone,  must  then 
be  covered  wath  a  half-inch  layer  of  fine,  well- washed  gravel. 
"When  one  has  large  trout  to  spawn  in  the  race  the  water 
should  be  2  inches  deep  at  the  upper  or  supply  end,  and  15 
inches  deep  at  the  lower  end  where  it  empties  into  the  pond, 
with  a  gentle  current  throughout  its  whole  length.  This  will 
give  good  spawning  depth  to  the  water  for  trout  of  all  sizes 
from  6  to  24  inches  long.  Usually  a  race  3  feet  wide,  and 
from  15  to  20  feet  long,  will  be  quite  sufiicient  for  a  pond  of 
1000  or  1800  trout. 

"  The  bottom  of  this  race  must  be  covered  with  fine  wire- 
cloth  screens,  of  about  10  meshes  to  the  inch,  made  of  zinc 
or  galvanized  wire,  so  as  not  to  corrode,  and  thus  injure  the 
spawn.  Iron  wire,  if  painted^  will  answer  where  zinc  can  not 
be  obtained".  These  wire  screens  must  be  nailed  to  wooden 
frames,  made  of  inch-square  stuff,  the  frames  to  correspond  in 
length  with  the  width  of  the  race,  and  to  be  as  wide  as  the 


Abtificial  Fish  Pkopagation.  399 

cloth  will  permit— say  2  feet.  Strips  of  three-quarter-inch 
stuff  must  be  nailed  to  the  bottom  of  the  race  for  the  screens 
to  rest  on,  in  such  a  manner  that  they  will  be  raised  one  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  above  the  gravel  on  the  bottom.  This  is  done 
to  give  good  circulation  to  the  water  under  the  spawn  as 
they  fall  on  to  these  wire  screens.  These  screens  must  be 
laid  the  whole  length  of  the  race,  side  by  side,  to  catch  the 
spawn  as  it  is  deposited  by  the  parent  trout. 

"Now  place  over  these  another  set  of  screens  made  of  coarse 
wire-cloth,  of  about  two  or  three  meshes  to  the  inch,  so  that 
the  spawn  will  drop  through  easily.  These  screens  must  be 
nailed  on  frames  of  the  same  length  as  the  others,  but  of  two- 
inch  stuff,  and  as  wide  as  the  cloth  will  permit.  These  screens 
must  be  strong  enough  to  hold  2  inches  of  well-washed  coarse 
gravel  from  three  quarters  of  an  inch  to  2  inches  in  diameter. 
They  should  be  so  large  that  there  will  be  interstices  between 
the  gravel  large  enough  to  let  the  spawn  pass  down,  if  neces- 
sary, to  the  lower  screen.  The  upper  screens  should  have  han- 
dles on  each  end  to  lift  them  by,  as  they  will  have  to  be  taken 
out  and  replaced  every  few  days  during  the  spawning  season. 

"When  these  two  sets  of  screens  are  placed  the  whole  length 
of  the  race,  and  all  is  complete,  the  water  will  pass  over  all, 
2  inches  deep  at  the  supply  end,  and  15  inches  deep  at  the 
lower  end,  with  a  moderate  current  through  the  whole  race. 
The  reader  will  perceive  by  the  description  and  diagram  that 
there  is  one  inch  of  space  between  the  two  screens  to  hold  the 
spawn  as  they  are  deposited  by  the  parent  trout,  with  a  gen- 
tle current  passing  over  and  under  them,  and  that  the  upper 
screen  prevents  the  spawn  from  being  destroyed  by  trout 
and  insects,  so  that  they  are  perfectly  safe  until  removed  to 
the  hatching-box. 

"When  the  trout  is  ready  to  spawn  she  will  enter  the  race 
from  the  pond  and  prepare  her  nest.  This  she  does  by  whip- 
ping all  the  sediment  from  the  gravel  with  her  tail,  and  then 
she  whips  or  digs  a  hole  in  the  cleansed  gravel  about  2  inches 
deep,  or  down  to  the  upper  screen,  and  about  4  inches  in  di- 


400  .    Fishing  in  American  "Waters. 

ameter.  She  then  bends  herself  down  in  this  hole  and  presses 
her  abdomen  on  the  gravel,  and  forces  out  from  100  to  500 
spawn,  which  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the  hole,  and  down  through 
the  upper  screen  to  the  lower  one.  She  then  passes  up  the 
race,  and  the  male  trout  attending  her  comes  over  the  nest 
and  spawns,  and  ejects  his  milt  on  the  ova ;  he  then  whips  the 
water  in  the  hole  with  his  tail,  sending  the  water  and  milt  in 
all  directions,  so  that  the  milt  reaches  all  the  spawn  on  the 
screen  or  in  the  gravel,  and,  as  they  are  ripe  and  ready  for 
the  milt,  impregnates  every  one  of  them.  As  soon  as  this  is 
done  the  mother  trout  returns  and  covers  up  the  spawn  and 
fills  the  hole,  and  soon  digs  another  in  like  manner,  and  so  on 
till  she  has  deposited  all  her  ova,  which  sometimes  takes  two 
weeks. 

"  There  may  be  from  20  to  50  trout  in  the  race  spawning  at 
one  time,  and  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  spawn  will  be  found 
perfectly  impregnated  and  fully  matured,  so  that  they  will 
all  hatch  if  taken  out  every  three  days  or  once  a  week,  and 
placed  in  hatching-boxes. 

*'  To  take  the  spawn  from  the  lower  screens,  first  take  out 
two  of  the  upper  screens,  with  what  gravel  is  upon  them ; 
then  remove  the  lower  ones,  and  wash  the  spawn  off  into  a 
large  pan  of  water  carefully,  and  replace  one  set  behind  you, 
and  then  take  up  one  set  at  a  time  and  place  back  until  all 
are  returned.  Should  any  spawn  remain  in  the  gravel,  by 
raising  the  screen  up  and  down  a  few  times  they  will  drop 
down  through  the  interstices.  The  race  must  be  kept  well 
covered  during  the  time  of  spawning,  all  persons  must  be 
kept  away,  and  the  fish  disturbed  as  little  as  possible. 

"  By  this  method  the  spawn  are  all  saved,  are  perfectly  ma- 
tured, are  all  impregnated,  and  will  all  hatch ;  the  young  will 
be  perfect,  few  or  none  will  die,  as  their  sack-food  is  complete, 
and  they  will  be  strong  and  healthy  when  they  commence 
seeking  food  for  themselves.  It  is  much  less  work  to  take 
the  spawn  than  by  handling,  and  no  parent  trout  are  lost." 

As  salmon  and  trout  spawn  along  at  intervals  of  several 


Latest  Fish-beeeding  Impeovements;  401^ 

weeks,  it  is  natural  to  infer  that  all  the  eggs  do  not  mature 
at  one  time.  That  this  is  the  case  has  been  proven  by  the 
officers  of  French  fisheries.  About  the  time  when  France 
endowed  the  Institution  of  Huningue,  and  when  the  waters, 
which  had  for  many  years  remained  still  and  dead,  all  at  once 
became  enlivened  by  the  leaps  of  trout  and  the  splashings 
of  salmon,  the  "  habitans"  regarded  the  sight  as  supernat- 
ural, and  an  evidence  that  Heaven  was  pleased  with  Napo- 
leon's reign.  About  this  time,  when  France  had  first  voted 
30,000  francs  for  the  advancement  of  fish-culture,  and  then  in- 
creased the  sum  to  80,000,  the  study  of  all  residents  along 
salmon-rivers  and  trout-streams  was  how  to  proitire  the  eggs 
of  trout  and  fecundate  them.  They  read  all  about  Joseph 
Remy's  plan,  and  the  result  was  that  all  the  streams  were  rob- 
bed of  game  fishes  for  procuring  eggs  to  sell  to  the  establish- 
ment at  Huningue.  Of  course  the  poor  fishes  were  squeezed  to 
death  in  forcing  them  to  exude  immature  ova,  and  the  streams 
becoming  thereby  depeopled,  induced  the  unbelievers  in  fish- 
culture  to  set  their  faces  against  the  wanton  destruction. 
The  French  government  then  advertised  that  it  would  pur- 
chase no  more  fecundated  ova  unless  the  roe  and  milt  were 
exuded  by  employes  of  government.  Government  agents 
thereafter  were  notified  by  those  who  had  trout  ready  to 
spawn,  and  the  agents  visited  the  place,  and  took  the  ova 
only  which  was  exuded  without  pressure,  leaving  the  rest  to 
restock  their  streams.  Since  then,  water-farming  has  been 
an  uninterrupted  success. 

pijrman's  natfeal  hatching-eace. 
At  Maspeth,  in  Kings  County,  which  is  within  or  joins  the 
metropolitan  district  of  which  New  York  City  is  the  centre, 
Mr.  William  Furman  has  been  propagating  brook  trout  arti- 
ficially for  the  past  ten  years ;  and  as  he  is  a  gentleman  of 
genius,  energy,  and  means,  and,  withal,  an  excellent  fly-fisher, 
his  devotion  to  the  art  offish-culture  has  been  rather  for  love 
than  profit.     In  his  hatching-race  there  are  millions  of  fecun- 

Cc 


402  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

dated  ova  far  enough  advanced  to  render  their  eyes  distin- 
guishable, and  they  are  hatching  daily,  thus  proving  its  per- 
fect adaptability  to  the  objects  intended  of  hatching  and  pro- 
tecting the  eggs.  It  differs  from  that  of  Mr.  Ains worth  in 
having  but  one  race,  with  perforated  bottom  of  zinc,  with 
three  holes  to  the  inch.  The  bottom  is  covered  with  pebbles, 
and#accessible  to  the  trout  from  his  pond  during  the  spawn- 
ing season,  when  may  be  frequently  seen  a  dozen  pairs  of 
spawners  at  a  time.  The  water  flows  gently  down  the  race, 
and  the  spawners  keep  it  constantly  agitated  throughout  the 
spawning  season,  so  that  the  fecundated  ova  falls  through  the 
perforated  zimc  bottom  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  which  is 
made  of  sand  and  gravel,  on  which  the  eggs  hatch. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  this  race  differs  from  the  Ains- 
worth  one,  which  has  two  perforated  races  or  troughs  above 
the  bottom,  from  the  lower  one  of  which  the  fecundated  eggs 
are  removed  to  hatching-boxes,  while  the  Furman  race  con- 
sists of  but  one  perforated  race  or  trough,  from  which  the 
eggs  fall  to  the  bottom,  and  remain  during  the  period  of  in- 
cubation, or  until  hatched. 

I  have  not  deemed  it  necessary  to  illustrate  the  form  of 
the  Furman  race,  as  it  is  similar  to  the  Ainsworth  one,  only 
it  has  but  one  screen,  and  the  bottom  is  not  formed  of  mova- 
ble trays,  but  the  eggs  drop  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream, 
where  they  hatch  as  in  a  natural  stream,  only  that  they  are 
protected  from  destruction  by  their  parents  or  other  families 
of  the  finny  race,  which  have  no  access  to  the  compartment 
of  the  stream. 

These  imitations  of  the  natural  stream  and  spawning-beds 
are  the  latest  invention  in  American  fish-culture.  Thus  far 
they  have  proved  successful,  and  promise  to  render  unneces- 
sary the  artificial  fecundation  by  handling  the  spawner  and 
milter  for  forcing  exudation  of  the  seed.  These  plans  sim- 
plify artificial  fish-breeding,  and  promise  to  prove  a  greater 
improvement  on  the  French  grilles  and  hatching-trays  than 
were  the  latter  upon  the  troughs  with  wire-cloth  ends  placed 


The  Napoleon  Fish-hatchee.  403 

in  streams  to  hatch  the  fecundated  ova  by  Lieut.  Jacobi  or 
Joseph  Remy.  Messrs.  Furman  and  Ainsworth  being  both 
gentlemen  of  leisure,  who  devote  their  time  to  fish-culture 
pro  bono  publico  and  for  their  love  of  the  subject,  much  ben- 
efit may  therefore  be  reasonably  expected  from  their  experi- 
ments in  water-farmino^. 


For  the  general  managemeijt  in  propagating  salmon  and 
trout,  and  the  transportation  of  fecundated  ova  and  the  ale- 
vins,  the  following  advice,  founded  upon  successful  experi- 
ment and  entirely  reliable,  may  be  read  with  interest  by 
those  who  are  about  to  commence  fish-culture  by  artificial 
assistance : 

"  Build  your  ponds  according  to  the  amount  of  water  you 
have.  If  you  have  but  little,  build  small.  The  water  should 
be  changed  every  24  or  48  hours,  and  the  oftener  it  changes 
the  better.  The  trout  can  be  very  plenty  if  they  have  suffi- 
cient fresh  water  and  food. 

"  I  can  send  ova  a  fifty  days' journey  packed  in  a  box  with 
moss.  I  place  the  moss  in  a  tin  pail,  filled  with  sawdust,  so 
that  the  spawn  will  not  feel  the  changes  of  heat  and  cold. 

^^ Directions  for  handling  the  Spawn. — Pick  the  moss  care- 
fully oif  from  the  top  of  the  spawn.  Then  put  the  box  in  a 
pan  of  water  and  turn  it  nearly  bottom-side  up,  and  pick  the 
moss  out  very  carefully.  The  spawn  will  sink  to  the  bottom, 
and  you  can  pick  the  moss  out  of  the  pan.  If  there  is  a  little 
left  it  will  do  no  harm.  Then  pour  the  spawn  in  your  hatch- 
ing-trough by  holding  the  edge  of  your  pan  under  water,  and 
'  place'  them,  without  touching  the  spawn,  by  agitating  the 
water  with  the  bearded  end  of  a  feather.  The  dead  spawn 
will  turn  a  milk-white  color,  and  should  be  picked  out.  Your 
trough  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  water  will  run  in  it 
about  twelve  feet  per  minute.  The  water  should  be  filtered 
by  running  through  gravel  or  cloth  screens,  to  prevent  the 
sediment  from  reaching  the  spawn.     I  run  about  one  inch  of 


404  Fishing  in  American  "Waters. 

water  over  my  spawn,  and  if  any  sediment  gets  on  them  and 
is  allowed  to  remain  there  long,  it  will  surely  kill  them.  Re- 
move all  sediment  with  the  bearded  end  of  a  quill  by  agita- 
ting the  water,  without  touching  the  spawn. 

"  Large  ponds  with  but  little  water  get  too  warm  in  sum- 
mer and  too  cold  in  winter  for  trout  to  do  well.  It  is  detri- 
mental to  have  any  other  fish  with  trout.  Any  kind  of  fish 
or  fish-spawn  is  good  for  feed.  The  young  should  be  fed 
twice  per  day,  very  slowly ;  if  fed  fast,  the  feed  sinks  and  be- 
fouls the  trough,  and  the  trout  will  sicken  and  die.  If  fed 
regularly,  and  the  trough  kept  clean,  with  a  good  change  of 
water,  and  not  kept  too  thick,  they  will  live  and  do  well.  If 
neglected,  they  will  surely  die. 

"  What  is  Death  to  Spawn. — The  sun,  sediment,  rats,  mice, 
snails,  crawfish,  and  many  water  insects. 

"My  troughs  are  25  feet  long  and  15  inches  wide.  The 
water  that  feeds  each  trough  would  go  through  a  half-inch 
hole  with  a  three-inch  head.  Use  fine  gravel  that  has  no  iron 
rust  in  it.  My  troughs  are  three  inches  higher  at  the  head. 
The  average  temperature  of  the  water  is  45°}  and  the  fish 
hatch  in  10  days.  Every  degree  colder  or  warmer  will  make 
about  six  days  difierence  in  hatching.  Trout  hatch  the  soon- 
est in  warm  water.  The  sack  on  their  bellies  sustains  them 
for  40  or  45  days  after  hatching ;  then  they  need  food. 

"  When  the  fish  are  hatched,  raise  the  water  in  the  troughs 
about  four  or  five  inches  by  putting  on  a  piece  of  board  of 
that  width  on  every  cross-piece,  thus  keeping  the  fish  sepa- 
rate— about  an  equal  number  in  each  square.  If  you  have 
small  streams  of  shallow  water  near  the  head  of  your  pond, 
put  a  few  in  a  place  in  the  stream  and  pond,  and  they  will 
take  care  of  themselves  better  than  you  can.  •  The  object  of 
distributing  them  is  that  they  will  get  more  food.  All  old 
streams  and  ponds  have  plenty  of  food  for  small  trout  and 
large,  which  you  will  find  by  examining  the  moss,  sticks,  and 
stones  in  jour  ponds  and  streams,  as  they  are  full  of  water- 
insects. 


Amusement  for  Ladies.  405 

"  The  fish,  after  hatching,  should  be  fed  twice  daily  for  two 
or  three  months,  then  once  a  day — the  grown  fish  once  a  day 
or  oftener.  For  the  young  fish,  liver  should  be  scraped  and 
chopped  very  fine,  and  mixed  with  water,  to  give  it  about  the 
consistency  of  clotted  blood.  Toss  this  to  the  fish  a  little  at 
a  time,  so  that  they  can  catch  and  devour  it  before  it  reaches 
the  bottom  of  the  trough ;  no  more  should  be  given  than  the 
fish  will  eat,  because  if  any  is  left  it  will  settle  on  the  bottom 
and  foul  the  water,  and  the  fish  will  sicken  and  die.  The  fish 
may  be  fed  on  curds,  fish  ofial,  or  other  animal  matter,  pro- 
vided it  be  small  enough  for  them  to  swallow." 

EVERT  FARMER  SHOULD  HAVE  A  TROUT  PRESERVE. 

From  a  perusal  of  the  foregoing  descriptions  for  breeding 
salmon  and  trout  by  the  most  celebrated  and  successful  fish- 
culturists,  it  will  be  perceived  that  they  do  not  difier  much 
in  the  modus  operandi.  Nearly  every  farmer  has  a  spring 
on  his  place  yielding  surplus  water  suflScient  to  hatch  trout 
in  boxes.  If  he  does  not  wish  to  go  to  much  expense  in 
erecting  a  dam  to  form-  a  preserve,  he  might  at  least  hatch 
the  trout  in  boxes  and  sell  them,  for  they  are  as  ready  sale  as 
any  product  of  a  farm.  Mr.  Ains worth,  of  Bloomfield,  N.  Y., 
said :  "  The  original  stock  (of  trout)  was  put  in  my  pond,  con- 
taining 61  square  rods  of  ground,  14  feet  deep,  supplied  with 
springs,  three  years  ago,  1400  in  number,  age  from  1  to  4 
years.  They  weigh  now  from  1  to  3  pounds  each.  They  are 
about  as  tame  as  kittens — come  at  call,  and  show  themselves 
clear  out  of  water  in  their  haste  for  food  by  the  five  hundred 
at  a  time,  and  some  take  it  out  of  a  spoon  six  inches  above 
the  water.  Think  of  seeing  five  hundred  trout  all  at  the 
same  instant,  weighing  from  1  to  3  pounds,  and  from  12  to  18 
inches  long !" 

A  two-pound  trout  will  furnish  about  8000  spawn,  smaller 
ones  less  in  proportion.  They  commence  spawning  when  one 
year  old. 

In  this  way  they  can  be  increased  and  grown  to  any  ex- 


406  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

tent,  and  all  the  ponds  and  streams  in  the  country  stocked  to 
overflowing. 

We  conclude  with  the  statement  of  both  hope  and  confi- 
dence that  the  reader  will  find  fish-breeding  in  boxes  so  sim- 
ple and  sure  that  he  will  at  once  prepare  to  engage  in  the 
interesting  and  profitable  occupation. 

GENERAL    OBSERVATIONS. 

Upon  the  breeding-times  of  different  fishes,  and  their  re- 
sorts at  certain  seasons  in  the  year  to  hibernate,  there  is  no 
fixed  data.  We  know  that  eels  spawn  in  salt  waters  if  they 
have  access  to  them,  and  visit  fresh  waters  to  recuperate  and 
fatten.  On  the  other  hand,  salmon  seek  the  heads  of  rivers 
to  spawn,  and  resort  to  unknown  marine  pastures  to  gain 
strength  and  fatten. 

Most  white-meated  fishes  spawn  in  the  spring,  yet  the  fish 
known  as  the  whitefish  spawns  in  early  autumn.  All  mem- 
bers of  the  genus  Salmo  spawn  in  autumn. 

The  striped  bass,  with  which  our  anglers  on  the  rivers  en- 
tering the  coast  are  as  familiar  as  with  any  other  game  fish, 
spawns  at  indefinite  periods.  It  is  known  that  in  the  Chesa- 
peake Bay  it  spawns  in  spring;  that  in  the  estuaries  and 
bays  near  New  York  and  along  the  coast  of  Long  Island  it 
begins  spawning  in  April  and  continues  until  July.  The  late 
Judge  Morris  and  myself  were  once  trolling  in  Hell  Gate  in 
September,  and  suspecting  that  a  striped  bass  which  we  had 
taken  contained  ova  in  an  advanced  stage,  we  had  the  fish 
eviscerated,  when  the  ova  was  discovered  to  be  nearly  ma- 
ture. Striped  bass  taken  in  the  Vineyard  Sound  in  autumn 
are  frequently  found  to  be  big  with  roe  nearly  ready  to  drop. 
These  facts  present  questions  for  solution  by  ichthyologists. 
Do  striped  bass — like  the  hens — continue  laying  for  several 
months  ?     Or  do  they  lay  twice  a  year — spring  and  fall  ? 

Both  the  flounder  and  plaice,  or  fluke,  spawn  in  winter. 
Smelt  spawn  at  intervals  from  February  until  April. 


The  Emperor  leads  in  Person. 


m 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SALMON-PASSES,  LADDERS,  ETC. 

.AViNG  Studied  ancient  aquaculture 
and  fish-culture,  and  examined  the 
modus  operandi  for  water-farming, 
with  its  profits  a  thousand  -  fold 
greater  than  those  from  cultivating 
the  soil,  the  reader  will  have  ar- 
rived at  the  threshold  of  an  im- 
provement as  necessary  as  are  all 
the  previously-named  operations. 

One  of  the  most  important  ques- 
tions of  the  day  in  reference  to  the 
fresh-water  fisheries  of  the  United 
States — especially  to  those  devoted 
to  the  propagation  of  salmon  and 
trout — is  how  to  expand  and  devel- 
op them  to  the  greatest  extent,  so 
as  to  interfere  as  little  as  possible 
with  existing  arrangements  as  to 
mills  and  proprietaiy  rights.  That 
the  salmon  should  breed,  it  is  ab- 
solutely indispensable  that  it  should  be  able  to  reach  the 
heights  and  shallow  portions  of  rivers,  which  alone  afford 
suitable  gravel-beds  for  the  operation  of  depositing  the  ova 
and  rearing  the  young.  If  it  can  not  get  to  these,  the  breed 
of  salmon  is  soon  extinguished,  and  this  has  been  the  cause 
of  its  extinction  in  ninety-nine  rivers  out  of  every  hundred. 
Mill-dams,  those  terrible  enemies  to  the  salmon,  are  the  prin- 
cipal offenders  in  this  respect.  Commercial  and  manufactur- 
ing interests  being  almost  too  strong  for  the  salmon,  the 


408  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

question  which  has  been  agitating  the  minds  of  the  most  en- 
lightened piscicidturists  of  the  age  for  years  has  been,  How 
we  can  best  contrive  that  the  fish  shall  have  a  free  passage 
up  the  rivers,  in  order  to  continue  its  species  without  any  loss 
of  water-power  or  profits  on  the  part  of  the  mill-owners  ?  If 
we  can  show  them  that  this  is  possible,  we  have  a  natural 
right  to  compel  those  who  have  blocked  up  our  rivers  for 
their  own  profit  to  give  the  fish  a  free  passage  as  a  public 
benefit.  The  very  best  passage  through  a  dam  is  an  open 
run  by  means  of  a  good  wide  pass  in  the  centre  of  the  dam, 
or,  at  any  rate,  in  such  part  of  it  as  will  easily  be  found  by 
the  salmon,  in  showers,  when  the  water-power  is  generally 
more  than  enough  for  the  requirements  of  the  mill  and  fac- 
tory. There  can  be  no  great  difiiculty  about  this  (proper  re- 
gard, of  course,  being  paid  to  the  stability  of  the  dam),  ex- 
cept on  rivers  where  the  power  is  at  all  deficient,  when  con- 
trivances, such  as  ladders,  etc.,  etc.,  are  needed  to  prevent  the 
waste  of  any  of  the  water-power.  It  is  true  that  salmon  can 
jump  up  a  fall  of  considerable  height.  Indeed,  salmon  have 
been  known  to  partly  jump  and  partly  swim  up  falls  of  ten 
or  twelve  feet  in  height,  and  even  much  more ;  but  the  ca- 
pability requires  certain  conditions  for  its  performance,  and 
chief  of  all  these  is  a  good  deep  pool  at  the  foot  of  the  fall 
or  dam  as  a  starting-place,  and  the  more  arched  or  slanting 
out  of  the  perpendicular  the  fall  is,  the  easier  the  salmon  will 
surmount  it.  It  used  formerly  to  be  supposed  that  a  salmon 
jumped  out  of  the  water  in  the  way  that  mites  ane  seen  to 
jump  in  a  rotten  cheese,  viz.,  by  putting  the  tail  to  the  mouth, 
and  then,  by  the  exertion  of  a  sudden  efibrt  of  muscular  ex- 
pansion, forcing  its  broad  tail  to  act  upon  the  water  so  as  to 
shoot  the  fish  ahead.  This  is  now  known  to  be  fallacious,  as 
it  is  seen  that  the  salmon  is  quite  powerless  to  leap  any  dam 
when  the  waters  at  the  foot  of  the  dam  are  shallow ;  and  it 
is  known  that  salmon  leap  like  all  other  animals  (except 
cheese-mites),  viz.,  by  acquiring  the  utmost  attainable  veloc- 
ity by  means  of  a  run,  and  then,  by  a  sudden  and  powerful 


How  Salmon  and  Trout  Leap.  409 

spring,  giving  the  impetus.  This  spring  must  be  made,  of 
course,  by  the  assistance  of  every  fin  that  can  aid  it,  but  chief- 
ly by  a  strong  stroke  of  the  tail.  Unfortunately,  however, 
the  majority  of  mill-dams  are  so  spread  out  across  rivers 
that  the  water  runs  over  them  in  the  thinnest  possible  sheet, 
and  the  soundness  of  the  dam  requires  a  foundation  on  the 
lower  face.  This  foundation  is  assisted  and  protected  by  a 
wooden  sheathing  called  the  apron,  and  this  is  placed  as  near 
the  surface  of  the  water  as  possible,  and  extends  down  stream 
for  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  below  the  dam,  so  that  the  under- 
standing of  the  dam  may  not  be  undermined ;  and  thus  it 
constantly  occurs  that  while  the  pool  below  the  dam  is  of 
great  depth  and  capacity,  yet  it  only  forms  a  sort  of  reservoir 
for  the  fish,  which  the  owner  of  the  dam  catches  at  his  lei- 
sure, the  fish  being  unable  to  approach  the  dam  even  so  as  to 
swim  or  pass  over  it ;  and  a  dam  of  this  sort,  if  only  three  or 
four  feet  high,  would  be  as  impassable  to  salmon  as  if  it  were 
four  times  that  height.  A  salmon  will  scull  up  a  pretty  swift 
stream  that  does  not  perhaps  cover  his  back,  so  long  as  his 
tail  and  pectoral  fins,  which  are  the  propelling  power,  are  im- 
mersed,* provided  in  such  waters  he  is  not  called  upon  to 
make  a  perpendicular  jump.  This  he  can  not  do  without  a 
run  to  start  him.  In  considerable  depths,  for  a  short  space, 
a  salmon  can  force  his  way  through  extremely  rapid  and 
heavy  waters,  but  there  are  limits  to  this  capability ;  and  the 
difficulty  which  pisciculturists  labor  under  is  the  ascertaining 
what  weight  or  rapidity  ofvmter  a  salmon  can  stem.  Some 
salmon,  of  course,  can  stem  a  stronger  torrent  than  others,  but 
the  problem  must  be  taken  as  applicable  to  the  weakest  fish, 
not  the  strongest,  inasmuch  as  the  object  is  chiefly  to  per- 
mit the  passage  of  female  fish  very  heavily  laden  with  ova. 
A  female  fish,  full  of  eggs,  carries  something  like  a  fourth  of 
its  own  entire  weight  in  that  commodity,  and  U7iless  such  fish 

*  The  tail  is  the  most  important  organ  in  this  proceeding,  the  fins  being 
used  chiefly  for  balancing  and  steering  the  fish,  though  they  all  aid  propul- 
sion on  unusual  occasions  calling  for  great  and  sudden  effort. 


410  FiSHrNG  IN  American  Waters. 

are  let  up^  there  is  little  use  in  letting  the  others  up.  Therefore 
the  easier  these  passages  (of  whatever  kind  they  may  be)  are 
made  for  the  salmon,  the  better  it  will  be  for  the  fishery. 

Now  it  has  been  ascertained  that  a  slope  of  one  in  seven 
or  eight  is  very  near  the  extreme  of  steepness  which  a  strong 
salmon  can  make  his  way  through — that  is,  for  any  distance. 
It  may  be  that  by  a  sudden  effort  of  the  tail,  for  a  yard  or 
^t^o,  he  can  shoot  almQSt  any  thing,  but  when  he  has  been  a 
dozen  yards  or  more  of  such  gradient,  unless  he  can  somehow 
obtain  a  fresh  starting-point,  the  effort  fails,  and  the  fish  is 
driven  back  by  the  weight  of  the  stream. 

Therefore  it  is  desirable,  in  all  passes  which  are  long  or 
full-steep,,  to  have  a  resting-place,  or  a  quiet  pool  whence  the 
salmon  can  take  wind  and  make  a  fresh  start.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  lay  down  any  definite  rule  for  the  construction  of  all 
fish-passes,  since  the  architect  must  be  governed  by  the  facil- 
ities or  difficulties  presented  by  the  dam  or  fall,  and  probably 
few  dams  should  be  treated  precisely  the  same.  Various 
methods  have  been  employed  where  the  water  at  the  pool  be- 
low the  dam  is  too  shallow  to  offer  the  fish  a  good  start  to 
leap  the  obstruction.  One  of  the  first  and  most  simple  plans 
constructed  on  the  New  England  and  Canadian  rivers  was  a 
series  of  leaps  from  pool  to  pool,  with  a  small  dam  thrown 
across  the  stream  below  in  order  to  raise  the  water  enough 
to  give  the  salmon  a  start. 

A  stone  pier  is  erected  above  the  fall  to  break  the  ice  in 
spring,  and  to  check  the  force  of  the  timbers  and  the  heavy 
debris  of  the  stream  during  spring  freshets. 

On  small  streams,  a  rough  dam  of  big  boulders,  logs,  etc., 
has  been  made  a  few  yards  below  the  existing  one;  this  will 
probably  be  almost  half  the  height  of  the  other,  and  is  com- 
paratively easy  to  get  over.  It  returns  the  water  against 
the  lower  face  of  the  original  dam,  and  so  makes  that  much 
easier,  and  by  making  a  pool  between  them  of  some  depth,  it 
gives  the  fish  the  start  it  requires.  This,  on  small  streams, 
has  been  found  very  effective,  and  can  not  in  the  least  affect 


Stone  Pier  to  protect  Structure.  411 


Salmon  Leaps. 

the  mill-power;  but  upon  large  rivers  the  plan  is  impracti- 
cable. The  same  principle  can  be  applied  to  a  pass  which  is 
imperfect,  and  it  has  been  found  to  answer.  A  curving  pier 
has  been  built  out  from  the  dam  below,  so  that  the  water 
falliftg  over  the  dam  is  thrown  back  by  it,  and  though  it  is 
open  at  one  end,  yet  it  passes  far  enough  across  the  bed  of 
the  river  just  below  the  fall  to  so  raise  the  water  that  fish 
get  a  start  to  leap  the  dam.  To  increase  the  depth  of  water 
between  this  pier  and  the  dam,  a  large  beam  of  wood,  in  slant- 
ing direction  from  the  top  of  the  dam  to  the  pier,  conducts  a 
wide  sheet  of  water  from  the  top  of  the  dam  to  between  the 
dam  and  the  pier.  This  method  for  a  ^salmon-leap  can  not 
injure  the  water-power.  In  all  cases,  the  importance  of  such 
vital  means  of  assistance  to  the  salmon  requires  that  the  arch- 


412  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Watees. 

itect  should  be  a  man  of  natural  genius  as  well  as  learninor 
in  his  profession,  and  be,  withal,  a  good  angler,  or  know  the 
habits  of  his  client. 

When  the  mill-power  is  of  so  much  consequence  that  no 
water  can  be  wasted,  and  if  the  fall  be  great,  a  fish-ladder  is 
indispensable.  Fish-ladders  were  first  invented  by  Mr.  Smith, 
of  Deanston,  in  England,  and  were  employed  by  him  very 
successfully,  and  the  great  secret  of  his  success  was  in  the 
easy  gradient  which  he  gave  them.  His  original  plan  was 
something  like  a  fall  of  one  foot  in  twenty ;  but  so  easy  a 
gradient  as  this  greatly  lengthens  the  ladder,  and  adds  very 
largely  to  the  expense.  The  chief  object  of  all  ladders  should 
be  to  deliver  the  water  they  carry  to  the  spot  where  the  fish 
are  most  likely  to  find  it  and  to  use  it.  This  is,  in  all  dams, 
close  to  the  foot  of  the  dam,  and  as  near  as  may  be  conven- 
ient to  the  strong  main  stream.  If  the  foot  of  the  ladder 
should  be  carried  too  far  down  the  stream  below  the  dam, 
the  fish  which  are  at  the  foot  of  the  dam  will  be  so  far  above 
the  entrance  to  the  ladder  that  they  will  not  find  it ;  and  if 
it  be  in  some  wide  eddy  or  part  of  the  stream  where  it  might 
he  more  easy  to  construct  the  ladder^  the  fish  will  not  go  to 
that  part,  out  of  the  main  stream,  to  seek  it.  When  it  is 
necessary,  by  reason  of  the  height  of  the  dam,  to  have  a  long 
ladder,  it  should  be  turned  in  the  middle  like  a  double  pair 
of  stairs,  with  a  landing  or  pool  half  way,  so  as  to  deliver  the 
water  close  to  the  foot  of  the  dam.  The  far-famed  fish-lad- 
der at  Ballysadare,  in  Ireland,  is  made  upon  this  principle,  and 
by  the  aid  of  it  salmon  manage  to  surmount  a  fall  above  thir- 
ty feet  in  height.  The  opposite  engraving  will  show  the 
principle. 

A  stone  pier  above  the  entrance  of  the  water  to  the  ladder, 
as  at  D,  is  essential  in  American  waters  to  protect  the  ladder 
from  the  ice  and  the  terrific  debris  of  spring  floods.  The  sal- 
mon are  all  turning  their  pretty  noses  toward  the  ladder,  and 
many  of  them  are  ascending.  They  must  think  the  Irish  a 
kind  people  to  have  erected  such  a  convenience  for  them. 


Result  of  Study  and  G:^ius. 


'413 


Ballysadare  Salmon-pass. 

A.  Face  of  Dam.    B.  Entrance  to  the  Ladder,  easily  found.    C.  Resting-pool,  of  from 
one  to  two  feet  depth.    D.  Exit  from  Ladder  above  the  fall. 

The  steps  in  the  ladder  extend  three  fourths  its  width,  leav- 
ing the  stream  and  eddies  represented.  This  sketch  illus- 
trates a  very  important  principle,  which  can  be  varied  at 
pleasure.  The  gradient  of  a  salmon-ladder  should  really  not 
be  less  than  1  in  9  or  10,  and  1  in  12  is  better  still.  The 
chambers  between  the  steps  are  greatly  improved  if  the  bot- 
tom— instead  of  being  all  upon  the  same  slope  as  the  gen- 
eral gradient  of  the  ladder — is  broken  into  steps,  so  that  the 
water  is  deeper  immediately  behind  the  steps,  or  little  steps 


4:14  Fisfco  IN  American  Waters. 

or  falls  formed  at  the  passage  past  the  steps.  Indeed,  if  it 
be  practicable,  the  more  the  chambers  are  hollowed  out,  so 
as  to  deepen  the  water  as  much  as  possible  in  places,  and 
thus  to  break  and  deaden  the  force  of  the  stream,  the  better. 
Excellent  results  have  been  obtained  by  this  arrangement. 
Of  course  this  adds  somewhat  to  the  expense,  but  people 
should  consider  rent  when  they  are  making  a  salmon-fishery, 
which,  if  it  is  made,  may  in  all  probability  be  worth  a  very 
large  sum  of  money  annually,  to  risk  the  loss  of  which  for 
the  want  of  any  little  precaution,  which  may  cost  but  a  very 
trifling  sum  comparatively,  is  very  bad  economy,  and  hence 
every  possible  chance  should  be  given  to  the  fish. 

Salmon-ladders  can  be  made  of  wood,  but  they  are  far  bet- 
ter of  stone,  being  less  liable  to  destruction  or  damage.  It 
is  a  question,  however,  whether  a  salmon-ladder  could  not  be 
better  and  more  cheaply  made  and  put  together  of  iron. 
Such  a  structure  might  be  supported  very  easily  and  firmly 
by  means  of  light  iron  piles  driven  into  the  head  of  the  river 
below  the  dam,  and  made  in  lengths  which  could  be  bolted 
on  to  the  dam  and  riveted  together,  much  easier  than  stone 
or  mason's  work  can  be  secured. 

Among  other  passes,  there  is  one  which  is  perhaps  better 
suited  to  a  natural  fall,  though  it  was  in  use  formerly  upon 
navigable  rivers,  where  locks  and  dams,  were  placed  to  suit 
the  navigator.  This  was  an  artificial  cut,  coming  into  the 
river  at  the  foot  of  the  dam,  but  let  out  of  the  river  some  dis- 
tance above  it,  so  as  to  make  the  ascent,  which  is  broken  by 
the  dam,  gradual  and  easy.  There  are  many  contrivances 
for  helping  fish  surmount  falls  and  dams,  and  they  vary  con- 
siderably, according  to  the  nature  and  position  of  the  ob- 
struction ;  so  that,  while  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  gen- 
eral rule  of  construction  for  all,  yet  the  principle  that  a  cer- 
tain depth  and  head  of  water  is  reserved  for  the  passage  of 
the  fish,  and  that  no  fall  of  water  up  which  a  salmon  has  to 
pass  should  have  a  greater  incline  than  1  in  9  or  10,  are  those 
by  which  alone  the  construction  can  be  guided. 


Plain  Stairs  foe  Short  Kises. 


415 


int.    ►'5LK;U    CiAL.UU.N-bTAIKS. 


These  stairs,  of  heavy  timbers  and  mason-work,  are  intend- 
ed to  assist  salmon  and  trout  up  small  natural  falls  or  dams, 
and  for  such  object  are  highly  successful.  A  dam  may  be 
necessary  across  the  stream  a  few  rods  below,  so  as  to  deepen 
the  water  below  the  fall,  and  give  the  fish  a  swimming  start. 
The  height  of  this  sub-dam  should  be  three  feet,  and  the 
whole  work  well  considered,  and  designed  with  much  atten- 
tion to  the  gradient,  depth  of  water,  and  place  for  the  foot  of 
the  ladder. 

The  most  important  American  ladder  is  the  one  adopted 
by  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  a  sketch  of  which  will  be  found 
on  the  following  page. 


416 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


Canadian  Salmon-stairs. 


Fijr.  1.  Stone  Pier  to  protect  the  Dam.    2.  Plank  and  spike  Dam,  stone  foundation. 
3.  Bed  of  the  Pass  or  Stairs.    4.  Entrance  to  the  Pass.    6.  Egress  from  the  Pass. 


Stairs  foe  the  Fikst  Families.  417 

This  pass  is  built  into  the  dam,  and  constructed  of  heavy- 
timbers  filled  in  with  stone,  or  all  of  solid  masonry.  It  is  in- 
tended to  be  strong  enough  to  resist  and  break  up  the  acres 
of  thick  ice,  and  to  prevent  the  huge  trees  swept  down  the 
stream  by  the  spring  freshets  from  injuring  any  material  part 
of  the  structure,  which  is  so  strongly  erected,  and  of  such 
heavy  material,  and  imbedded  so  firmly,  as  to  strengthen  the 
dam  of  which  it  forms  so  important  a  part. 

Fig.  6  is  the  ground  plan,  and  1  the  side  elevation,  with 
dotted  line  showing  the  bed  of  the  pass,  and  with  the  ends  of 
the  steps  indicated  by  8  and  9. 

The  whole  subject  of  passes  and  ladders  is  of  extreme  im- 
portance to  our  fisheries,  and  it  is  one  which  calls  for  the 
closest,  most  patient,  and  most  scientific  investigation ;  for  if 
fish  are  not  allowed  to  reach  their  breeding-places,  it  is  use- 
less to  look  for  salmon ;  and  the  difficulty  is  how  to  deal  with 
the  vested  rights  of  mill-dams,  etc.,  so  as  not  to  arouse  the 
opposition  of  the  manufacturing  sections. 

The  following  account  of  foreign  experience  tells  with 
equal  force  in  America : 

"  I  watched  the  fish  with  a  race-glass  for  some  ten  minutes 
before  disturbing  them,  anxious  to  observe  what  Nature  was 
teaching  me.  There  is  a  very  deep  pool  at  the  point  where 
the  waterfall  joins  the  lower  level  of  the  water.  The  fish 
came  out  of  this  pool  into  the  air  with  the  velocity  of  an  ar- 
row ;  they  gave  no  warning  or  notice  of  their  intentions,  but 
up  they  came,  and  darted  out  of  the  surface  of  the  water  with 
a  sudden  rush,  like  rockets  let  loose  from  the  darkness  of  the 
night  into  the  space  above.  When  they  first  appeared  in  the 
air  their  tails  were  going  with  the  velocity  of  a  watch-spring 
just  broken,  and  the  whole  body,  sparkling  as  though  they 
had  been  enameled,  was  quivering  with  the  exertion.  They 
looked  as  much  like  flying-fish  as  ever  I  saw  any  thing  in  my 
life.  As  they  ascended  their  tails  left  ofi*  quivering,  for  these 
tails  were  machines  made  to  act  on  water,  and  not  wings  to 
act  on  air.     Their  course  was  somewhat  trajectory  in  form, 

Dd 


418  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

but  not  so  much  as  I  should  have  expected.  Not  one  single 
fish,  alas !  did  I  see  get  over ;  some  of  them  jumped  into  the 
body  of  the  waterfall,  and  were  hurled  violently  back  into  the 
pool,  like  the  pictures  we  see  of  soldiers  of  old  thrown  down 
headlong  from  the  ramparts  of  a  besieged  city.  Other  fish 
would  put  on  more  steam,  and  were  in  consequence  carried 
by  their  own  impetus  right  through  the  sheet  of  water,  dash- 
ing themselves  with  the  force  of  a  cricket-ball  against  the 
solid  wall  which  formed  the  weir.  These  also,  poor  things ! 
fell  back  into  the  pool  half  stunned,  and  with  cut  and  bruised 
noses.  While  the  bigger  fish  were  making  these  strenuous 
efibrts  to  ascend,  their  smaller  companions  were  jumping  dis- 
tances more  or  less  high  up.  into  the  falling  water.  Many 
had  evidently  given  it  up  for  a  bad  job,  and  were  swimming 
about  with  their  little  black  noses  projecting  out  of  the  white 
boiling  water,  doubtless  crying  out,  '  We  can't  get  up,  we 
can't  get  up.  Cruel  miller  to  put  the  weir.  Do  what  you 
can  for  us.'  *Wait  a  bit,  my  dear  fish,'  I  said;  'the  Duke 
of  Northumberland  is  a  kind  man,  and  he  is  going  to  make  a 
ladder  for  you ;  the  plans  are  nearly  settled,  and  you  shall 
then  jump  for  joy,  and  not  for  pain.  In  the  mean  time  read 
this.'  So  I  pinned  a  large  piece  of  paper  on  the  weir,  which 
read  thus:  *  Notice  to  salmon  and  bull-trout — no  road  at 
present  over  this  weir.  Go  down  stream,  take  the  first  turn 
to  the  right,  and  you  will  find  good  traveling  water  up  stream, 
and  no  jumping  required.' " 

Passes  for  trout  over  common  dams  may  be  accomplished 
by  building  a  tumbling  dam,  so  that  the  fish  may  surmount 
it  by  small  leaps.  That  common  fish  should  ascend  dams  is 
as  important  as  that  trout  and  salmon  should,  for  the  com- 
mon fish  and  their  roe  form  food  for  the  game  fish.  Smelts, 
herrings,  moss-bunkers,  chub,  dace,  spearing,  caplin,  sardines, 
launces,  etc.,  are  made  as  subsistence  for  salmon  and  trout, 
and  the  stairs  and  passes  should  be  so  graduated  as  to  enable 
them  to  pass  up  and  procreate  their  generations. 

In  propagating  trout,  it  is  frequently  necessary  that  they 


A  Limit  to  the  Ambitious. 


419 


should  be  prevented  from  running  up  a  stream  beyond  a  cer- 
tain point ;  hence  the  following  screen  is  intended  to  prevent 
them  from  leaping  a  small  cascade. 


The  Horizontal  Screen. 

This  may  be  constructed  of  horizontal  bars  placed  three 
inches  apart,  instead  of  lattice-work ;  or  it  may  be  of  copper 
wire. 


The  Current  Wheel. 


This  wheel  will  prevent  fish  from  passing  up  stream,  while 
the  horizontal  screen  allows  the  passage  of  floating  food. 


Concluding  that  enough  information  has  been  laid  before 
the  student  for  enabling  him  to  begin  fish-farming  and  pur- 
sue It  with  success,  I  will  therefore  proceed  to  another  topic. 


|)art    Jtftl). 


A  GLIMPSE   OF   ICHTHYOLOGT. 


CHAPTER  I. 


A  GLIMPSE  OF  ICHTHYOLOGY. 

LiMPSES  at  the  sciences  are 
generally  worse  than 
superfluous,  and  to 
"  drink  deep  or  taste 
not"  is  the  true  ad- 
vice ;  but  the  angler 
and  the  general  fisher- 
man may  find  it  an 
advantage  to  knoAv 
enough  of  ichthyolo- 
gy to  qualify  them  for 
correctly  describing 
the  fish  they  catch, 
and  it  is  for  this  ob- 
ject that  the  following  "  glimpse"  is  submitted.  The  speci- 
men of  the  pike-perch,  being  the  fish  known  in  Ohio  and 
some  other  states  of  the  West  as  the  salmon,  is  presented  for 
teaching  the  names  of  fins. 


The  Common  Pike-perch. — Lucioperca  Americana. 


In  describing  a  fish,  the  size,  form,  and  color  are  given — 
the  number,  character,  and  position  of  the  fins  —  and  fre- 


424: 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


quently  the  shape  and  character  of  the  scales,  the  character 
of  the  gills,  and  the  number  of  the  gill-openings. 

The  most  important  and  easily  recognized  of  these  features 
are  the  Jins ;  and  in  describing  them  the  names  are  given, 
and  the  number  of  spines  or  rays  in  each. 

FIRST  CLASS  OF  FISHES. 

SPINE-RAYED  BONY  FISHES.     {AcantJiopterygii.) 


Scale  of  Inches. 

The  Perch  Family, — 1.  American  Yellow  Perch,  Perca  Jlavescens.  2.  Striped  Sea  Bass, 
Labrax  lineatus.  3.  Black  Bass,  or  Black  Perch  of  Lake  Huron,  Huro  nigricans.  4. 
Growler,  or  White  Salmon  of  Virginia.  Grystes  salmoides.  6.  Black  Sea  Bass,  Cen- 
tropistes  nigricans.  6.  Mediterranean  Apogon,  Apogon  trimaculatus.  7.  Two-band- 
ed Dlploprion,  Diploprion  hifaciatum.  8,  One-spotted  Mesoprion,  Mesoprion  unino- 
tahis.  9.  Ruby-colored  Etelis,  Etelis  carbunculus.  10.  Armed  Enoplossus,  Enoplos- 
siis  armatus.  11.  Lettered  Serranus,  Serranus  scriba.  12.  Spined  Serranus,  Serranus 
anthias.    13.  Red  Surmullet,  Mullus  barbatus. 

THE    PERCH    FAMILY.       (CtenOlds.) 

The  spine -rayed  bony  fishes  comprise  more  than  three 
fourths  of  all  the  various  kinds  that  are  known.  From  four- 
teen to  seventeen  different  families,  some  of  them  embracing 
several  hundred  species  each,  have  been  included  in  this  di- 
vision. At  the  head  of  the  whole  stands  the  Perch  family, 
the  most  numerous  of  all.     Most  of  them  are  salt-water  fish, 


Aldermen  AND  Police. 


425 


but  about  one  fifth  of  the  whole  number  inhabit  fresh-water 
streams,  or  occasionally  ascend  them  from  the  sea. 


Scale  o/  Inches. 


1.  Mailed  Gurnard,  Peristedion  malarmat.  2,  Big  Porgee,  Pagrtm  arcfi/rops.  3.  Banded 
Ephippus,  or  Three-tailed  Porgee,  Ephij)pns  fahn:  4.  The  Sheepshead  (famed  for 
its  exquisite  flesh),  Sarr/ns  ovis.  5.  Streaked  or  Rock  Gurnard,  Trvjla  lineata.  6.  Ax- 
illary Sea  Bream,  Pagdhis  acarne.  7.  Bearded  Umbrina,  Umhrina  vulgaris.  (The 
Umbrina  is  "iven  as  the  representative  of  the  family  of  the  Maigres,  Avhich  includes 
our  Weakfisn,  Corvinas,  the  Chub,  Kingflsh,  and  the  Drum,  the. latter  noted  for  the 
loud  drumming  noise  which  it  makes,  and  the  cause  of  which  is  still  a  mystery.)  8. 
Common  Mackerel,  Scomber  scomber. 

The  several  species  of  the  Pilot-fish,  of  which  so  many  cu- 
rious stories  have  been  told,  also  belong  to  the  Mackerel  fam- 
ily. The  ancient  naturalists  asserted  that  the  common  pilot- 
fish,  which  is  a  pretty  little  fish  about  a  foot  in  length,  joins 
company  with  the  tempest-tossed  bark  of  the  anxious  mar- 
iner, indicates  to  him  his  nearest  course  to  land,  and  leaves 
him  as  soon  as  it  has  fulfilled  this  kind  office. 

Others,  with  much  reason,  deny  this  assertion,  and  allege 
that  the  pilot,  like  the  shark,  follows  vessels  for  the  pui-pose 
of  obtaining  a  share  of  the  garbage  which  may  be  thrown 
overboard.  Certain,  however,  it  is,  that  their  perseverance 
in  this  respect  is  very  singular,  as  is  narrated  in  the  case  of 
an  English  vessel  which  was  accompanied  by  two  pilot-fish 


1 


426 


Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 


Scale  of  Feet. 

1.  Common  Swordfish,  Xiphias  gladitcs.  2.  Indian  Swordfish,  Histiophorus  Indicux. 
3.  Common  Tunny,  Thynnis  vulgaris.  4.  Dolphin  of  the  Ancients,  Caryphoena  hip- 
puris.  5,  Scabbard-flsh,  Lepidopus  argyreus.  6.  Wolf-fish  (a  fighting  character,  be- 
longing to  the  family  of  the  Gobies),  Anarrhichus  lupus.  7.  Fishing  Frog,  Lophim 
piscatmius. 

during  its  entire  voyage  of  eighty  days  from  Alexandria,  in 
the  Mediterranean,  to  Plymouth. 

It  is  a  current  opinion  among  sailors  that  this  fish  acts  a 
pilot's  part  to  the  shark,  and  accompanies  and  befriends  it  as 


The  Pilot-fish. — Naucrates  ductor. 

opportunity  offers ;  and  certainly  there  is  a  great  amount  of 
evidence  which  goes  to  show  that  there  is  something  very 
much  like  a  confiding  familiarity  between  these  two  compan- 
ions of  the  weary  mariner.     Numerous  well  -  authenticated 


The  Fate  to  Purvey  for  Others. 


427 


cases  like  that  which  we  quote  from  Cuvier,  respecting  the 
habits  of  this  fish,  might  be  given. 

With  the  ancients,  however,  as  described  by  their  poets, 
this  little  fish  was  the  faithful  companion  of  the  whale  in- 
stead of  the  shark ;  and  Oppian  thus  alludes  to  the  services 
which  these  pigmy  pilots  render  to  their  unwieldy  associates : 

"  Bold  in  the  front  the  little  pilot  glides, 
Averts  each  danger,  every  motion  guides ; 
With  grateful  joy  the  willing  whales  attend, 
Observe  the  leader,  and  revere  the  friend. 
Where'er  the  little  guardian  leads  the  way, 
The  bulky  tyrants  doubt  not  to  obey, 
Implicit  trust  repose  in  him  alone, 
And  hear  and  see  with  senses  not  their  own," 

Wlien,  and  on  what  grounds,  the  misunderstanding  of  the 
pilot  with  his  "  fat  friend"  took  place,  history  fails  to  inform 
us ;  but  that  he  is  now  the  ally  of  the  dreaded  shark,  which 
he  escorts  in  safety  through  every  sea,  is  matter  of  general 
notoriety  and  almost  daily  observation. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  spike  or  spine  rayed  fishes, 
many  others  of  them  among  the  food-fishes  and  those  for  the 
angle  will  be  found  described  in  another  part  of  the  book, 
under  the  names  of  the  fishes. 


The  Roach  and  the  Dace. 


428 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


SECOND  CLASS  OF  FISHES. 

SOFT-EAYED  BONY  FISES.     {Malacopterygn.^ 


Scale  of  Inches. 

The  Cabp  Family.— 1.  Golden  Carp,  or  Goldfish,  Cyprintis  auratus.  2.  The  Roach, 
Leuciscus  rutilus.  3.  The  Loach,  or  Beardie,  CoMtis  barbatula.  4.  The  Tench,  Tin- 
ea vulgaris.  5.  The  Barbel,  Barbus  vulgaris.  6.  New  York  Shiner,  Cyprinus  cryso- 
lev^MS.  7.  Common  Carp,  Cyprinus  carpis.  8.  Common  New  York  Sucker,  Catosto- 
mus  communis. 


FISHES   WITH   ABDOMINAL  VENTRAL  FINS. 

The  carps  may  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  soft-rayed  di- 
vision. They  are  the  least  carnivorous  of  all  fishes,  and  em- 
brace, besides  the  common  carp  and  its  kindred,  the  several 
species  of  the  barbel,  the  gudgeon,  the  tench,  the  roach,  the 
dace  and  shiners,  the  minnows,  the  loach,  and  the  American 
suckers.  They  are  the  most  abundant  fish  in  the  fresh-water 
streams  of  Europe  and  America. 

The  carp,  tench,  roach,  and  kindred  fishes  are  said  by  the 
Abbe  Dom  Pinchon — the  original  fecundator  and  hatcher  of 
fishes  by  artificial  means — to  be  the  most  profitable  to  stock 
ponds  with ;  and  unless  they  should  become  so  numerous  as 
not  to  find  suificient  feed,  introduce  a  few  pickerel  or  perch. 


Yaeieties  for  Bait  Aim  Fly. 


429 


Scale  of  Inches. 

The  Pike  Family. — 1.  Saury  Pike,  Scomber-esox  satirus.  2.  Common  Pike,  Eaox  lucius. 
3.  Common  Garfish,  BeUme  vulgaris.  4.  Guiana  Garfish,  BeJxnve  Guianensis.  6.  Com- 
mon Flying-flsh,  ExodVua  volitans. 


k. 


Scale  of  Inches. 

Salmon  and  Trout  Family.— 1,  Whitefish  of  the  Lakes,  Coregomis  albtm.  2.  Common 
Sea  Salmon,  Salmo  salar.  3.  New  York  Brook  Trout,  Salmo /ontinalis.  4.  Troutlet. 
5.  Great  Lake  Trout  of  Europe,  Salmo /erox. 


430  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

Descriptions  under  each  fish  will  be  found  in  another  part 
of  the  book,  including  those  of  the  Shad  and  other  members 
of  the  Herring  and  Pilchard  family. 

THE    GADID^    FAMILY,  OR   FISHES   WITH    THE    VENTRAL   FINS 
BENEATH  THE   PECTORALS,  CALLED  Suh-hracMols. 


Scale  of  Inches. 

The  Cod  Family.— 1.  Three-bearded  Rockliug,  or  Sea  Loche,  Motella  tricirrata.  2. 
The  Torsk,  Brosmiua  vulgarw.  3.  The  Haddock,  Morrhua  ceylefimis.  4.  Coalfieh, 
Merlangus  carbonarius.  5.  The  Ling,  Lota  violva.  6.  Five-bearded  Rockline,  Motel- 
la  quinquecirrata.  7.  The  Whiting,  Merlangus  vulgaris.  8.  Great  Forked  Hake, 
Phrjcis  furcatus.    9  Common  Cod,  ilforrtoa  vulgaris. 

The  cod  and  haddock  are  among  the  most  important  food- 
fishes  in  the  world.  They  are  caught  with  the  hand-line  on 
the  edges  of  soundings,  and  visit  the  bays  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  to  spawn.  ■  The  Georgia  Banks  and  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  form  pastures  for  millions  of  them,  where  they 
feed  on  launces  (small  eels),  caplin,  and  young  menhaden. 
The  haddock  is  said  to  refuse  all  kinds  of  bait  in  stormy 
weather. 

The  cod  and  haddock,  as  important  commercial  fishes,  are 
treated  of  in  another  part  of  the  work. 


Luxuries  in  Disguises.  431 

THE  flatfish  FAMILY.     (PleuronectidcB.) 


Scale  of  Inches. 

Flatfish  Family. — 1.  The  Ttirbot,  Rhornbtia  rtmximus.  2.  Oblong  Flounder,  Platessa 
oblonga.  3.  The  Plaice,  Platessa  vulgaris  (similar  in  form  to  the  Rusti/  Dab  of  our 
coasts).    4  The  Halibut,  Hippoglosstts  vulgaris.    5.  Common  Sole,  Solea  vulgaris. 

The  turbot  of  Europe  is  regarded  as  the  aldermanic  fish, 
answering  to  our  sheepshead.  Both  the  sole  and  turbot  are 
great  delicacies,  and  even  luxuries.  Boiled  sole,  served  in  a 
napkin  on  a  hot  plate,  with  cauliflower  as  a  vegetable,  and 
fresh  drawn-butter,  is  not  easily  refused  by  the  most  pam- 
pered epicure.  These  fishes  are  generally  taken  with  the 
hand-line  and  with  the  deep-sea  casting-net.  The  meat  of 
the  sole  is  very  white,  and  the  taste  pure  and  of  delicate  fla- 
vor.    It  is  said  to  feed  in  deep  waters  along  chalk  cliff's. 

Fishes  2  and  3  are  the  common  flounder  and  the  fluke.  The 
lower  jaw  of  the  flounder  is  on  the  right  side  of  the  head,  and 
that  of  the  fluke  on  the  left  side.  These  are  among  the  first 
biting  fishes  of  the  early  spring  season  in  most  of  the  estua- 
ries on  the  Atlantic  coast.  They  are  excellent  fishes,  but 
not  sufficiently  known  or  appreciated  by  epicures. 

Until  within  the  past  ten  years,  it  was  supposed  that  nei- 
ther the  turbot  nor  the  sole  inhabited  "v^aters  along  the  Atlan- 


432 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


tic  coast  of  North  America ;  but  recently  a  few  turbot  have 
been  taken  off  the  coast  of  New  Brunswick,  and  it  is  thought 
their  feeding-grounds  will  yet  be  found  along  our  shores. 


THIRD  CLASS  OF  FISHES. 

CAETILAGINOUS  FISHES.     {Chondropterygii.) 


Scale  of  Feet. 

Sharks.— 1.  Large-spotted  Dog-fish,  ScylUum  catulus.  2.  Tope,  or  Penny-dog,  GaUus 
vulgaris.  3.  Blue  Shark  (the  most  common  shark  on  our  coasts),  Carcharius  glau- 
cus.  4.  Porbeagle,  Lamna  cornubica.  5.  Small-spotted  Dog-fish,  ScylUum  canicula. 
6.  Picked  (or  Piked)  Dog-fish,  Acanthias  vulgaris.   7.  Smooth  Hound,  Mustelus  Icevis. 


Scale  of  Feet. 


Sturgeon  and  Chim/eka  Families. — 1.  Common  Sturgeon  of  the  Atlantic,  Acipenser 
sturio.    2.  Northern  Chimera,  Chimcera  monstrosa.    3.  American  Lake  Sturgeon, 


Acipenser  rubicundus. 


Bottom  Denizens. 


433 


Scale  of  Feet. 

The  Ray  Family.— 1.  Common  Torpedo,  Torpedo  vulgaris.  2.  Many-?pined  Trygon, 
Trygon  histrix.  3.  Thornback  Ray,  Rata  clavata.  4.  Angel-flsh,  or  Monk-fish,  Aqtta- 
Una  angelus.    6.  Eagle  Ray,  or  Whip  Hay,  Myliobatis  aquila. 


Scale  of  Inches. 

Tub  Catfibu  Family. — ^1.  Brown  Catfish,  Pimdodus  pullus.    2.  Common  Catfish,  or 
Horned  Pout,  Pimelodu8  catus. 

The  Catfish  family  embraces  the  numerous  fresh-water  fish 
which  are  known  in  this  country  by  the  common  names  of 
catfish,  homed  pouts,  and  bullheads.  They  mostly  inhabit 
muddy  streams  and  lakes,  are  destitute  of  scales,  sluggish  in 
their  movements,  and,  like  the  famous  fishing-frog  or  angler, 
to  which  they  bear  some  resemblance,  depend  more  upon 

Ee 


434 


Fishing  in  American  Waters. 


stratagem  than  swiftness  to  seize  their  prey.  The  different 
species  vary  in  length  from  three  or  four  inches  to  four  feet ; 
and  some  are  said  to  have  been  caught  in  the  Ohio  and  Misr 
sissippi  Rivers  measuring  eight  feet  in  length. 

In  addition  to  the  brown  or  black  and  common  catfish, 
there  is  one  called  the  "  lady-cat,"  or  channel  catfish,  which 
tenants  the  Missouri  River,  and  is  not  only  a  great  table  lux- 
ury, but  one  of  the  most  gamy  fishes  of  the  West.  It  usually 
ranges  from  five  to  fifteen  pounds  in  weight,  is  symmetrical- 
ly formed,  with  smaller  head,  and  finer  in  general  outline  than 
the  others,  and  is  also  lighter  and  brighter  in  color.  This 
fish  remains  in  the  swiftest  waters  of  the  channel,  and  feeds 
on  the  chub,  roach,  and  other  small  fry.  It  is  one  of  the 
greatest  delicacies  of  the  fish  kind,  and  in  play  it  affords  the 
disciple  of  rod  and  reel  a  treat  long  to  be  remembered.  It 
is  fished  for  with  minnow  for  bait,  using  heavy  bass  tackle 
with  a  tracing  sinker.  When  hooked,  its  run  is  very  swift, 
and  it  is  hard  to  turn  and  coax  out  of  the  channel,  or  to  the 
gaff  or  landing-net. 

The  following  singular  circumstance,  going  to  prove  the 
affinity  between  the  common  horned  pout  and  the  bullfrog, 
may  interest  the  naturalist : 

n  a  recent  occasion, 
while  with  Matte- 
son,  the  artist,  he 
informed  me  of  the 
experience  of  Dr. 
White — one  of  the 
principal  physi- 
cians in  the  central 
part  of  New  York 
State  —  in  fishing 
for  horned  pout, 
known  throughout  the  country  as  bullheads. 

The  doctor,  having  a  taste  for  angling,  which  he  indulged 
whenever  the  condition  of  his  patients  permitted,  was  on  his 


Tetje  as  Singulak.  435 

return  homeward  from  visiting  a  patient,  when  a  summer 
shower  reminded  him  that  it  would  sharpen  the  appetite  of 
the  bullheads  in  the  river  which  he  was  approaching,  and  he 
therefore  reined  up  under  a  shed  near  the  river,  hitched  his 
horse,  cut  an  ash  pole,  found  a  line  armed  with  a  hook  and 
sinker  in  his  pocket,  dug  some  angle-worms,  and  forthwith 
went  a-fishing. 

There  was  a  punt  moored  at  the  shore,  and,  leaving  it  an- 
chored to  the  side  of  the  stream,  he  stepped  into  it  and  be- 
gan to  fish.  The  bullheads  put  in  an  appearance  immediate- 
ly, so  that  within  half  an  hour  he  had  taken  some  two  dozen 
fish,  and  as  fast  as  he  took  them  he  cast  them  on  the  grassy- 
bank  of  the  shore.  Having  a  pretty  good  mess,  he  cut  a 
switch  and  went  to  string  them,  when  not  one  was  to  be 
found.  This  surprised  the  doctor,  and  he  at  once  concluded 
to  solve  the  mystery,  and  so  commenced  fishing  again,  and 
throwing  the  fish  on  the  shore  as  he  had  before  done,  but 
keeping  a  sly  watch  of  them.  After  he  cast  the  fourth  one, 
a  large  bullfrog  leaped  from  the  water,  took  hold  of  a  bull- 
head, and  rolled  into  the  water  with  it ;  leaping  out  imme- 
diately, and  taking  another  fish,  he  rolled  in  as  before,  and  so 
continued  until  he  had  returned  the  four  to  the  water.  The 
doctor  continued  fishing,  and  as  fast  as  he  had  cast  three  or 
four  fish  on  shore,  the  bullfrog  returned  and  helped  them 
back  into  the  river. 

As  Dr.  White  is  an  educated  gentleman  who  enjoys  the 
confidence  of  a  very  wide  professional  and  intellectual  con- 
nexion, I  feel  assured  of  the  truth  of  the  foregoing  incident, 
and  therefore  report  the  case  for  Professor  Agassiz  or  some 
other  naturalist,  with  the  view  to  a  learned  decision  on  the 
nature  of  the  link  which  connects  the  bullhead  and  frog. 

The  bullfrog  could  not  have  helped  the  bullheads  back  to 
the  stream  to  feed  on  them,  for  the  spiked  dorsal  and  pecto- 
rals of  the  latter  forbid  it.  Even  the  pike — the  most  vora- 
cious fresh -water  fish  in  the  world,  excepting  the  silurce^ 
which  is  a  species  of  catfish — is  deterred  from  the  attempt. 


436  Fishing  in  Ameeican  Waters. 

The  important  question  for  the  naturalist  is,  Why  did  the 
bullfrog  help  the  bullhead?  Does  the  celestial  quality  of 
charity  influence  the  lower  strata  of  vertebrates  ? 

SECTION  SECOND. 

THE     COMMON     EEL. 

This  apode  is  too  common  in  both  the  salt-water  estuaries, 
and  in  the  fresh  waters  throughout  America,  to  require  a  mi- 
nute description.  Though  many  fishes  come  into  fresh  wa- 
ters to  spawn,  the  eel  spawns  in  salt  water  when  it  can  get 
to  it,  going  down  stream  in  autumn,  and  returning  in  spring. 
It  is  a  bottom  fish,  and  winters  in  the  mud  at  the  bottom  of 
eddies  or  shallow  still  waters  in  streams,  where  the  fisher  poles 
his  boat  along  with  the  handle  of  an  eel-spear,  and  jabs  right 


The  Common  Eel. — Anguilh. 

and  left  in  the  mud,  frequently  impaling  the  writhing  fish. 
The  silver  eel  at  the  mouths  of  the  trout-brooks  on  Long  Isl- 
and is  a  great  luxury  when  either  fried  hard  or  made  into  a 
stew.  It  is  regarded  as  so  great  a  dish  at  Vandewater's,  at 
South  Oyster  Bay,  as  to  be  preferred  to  a  trout  in  the  trouting 
season.  In  skinning  the  eel  and  drawing  it,  cut  deeply  each 
side  of  the  backbone,  and  from  the  vent,  several  inches  down- 
ward, cut  off  all  the  part  which  appears  to  be  a  receptacle  of 


Offee  of  a  new  Industey.  437 

clotted  blood.  Yarrel  informs  us  that  "  the  London  market 
is  principally  supplied  from  Holland  by  Dutch  fishermen." 
The  cultivation .  of  eels  and  lampreys  is  now  rendered  very 
remunerative  in  Italy  and  in  some  parts  of  Germany.  The 
average  weight  of  each  is  from  one  to  three  pounds,  but  they 
have  been  known  to  attain  to  fifteen  pounds'  weight. 

THE   LAMPREY. 

A  member  of  the  Petromyzidce  family,  constituting  the  sec- 
tion cyclostomi  of  the  "  R5gne  Animal,"  distinguished  by  an 
imperfectly  developed  skeleton  and  want  of  pectoral  and  ven- 
tral fins,  combined  with  an  eel-like  form  of  body.  The  mouth 
is  circular,  consisting  of  a  cartilaginous  ring  formed  by  sol- 
dering together  the  palatine  and  niandibular  bones.  The 
branchiae,  instead  of  being  pectinated,  are  purse-shaped,  and 
open  externally  by  several  apertures. 


The  Lamprey. — Petromyzon  marinus. 

The  lamprey  is  supposed  to  be  the  lowest  of  the  vertebrate 
animals.  They  are  usually  two  feet  in  length,  and  the  en- 
graving is  a  fac-simile  of  them.  Having  no  swimming-blad- 
der, and  being  also  without  pectoral  fins,  they  usually  swim 
near  the  bottom ;  and,  to  save  themselves  from  the  constant 
muscular  exertion  which  is  necessary  to  prevent  them  from 


438  Fishing  in  American  Waters. 

being  carried  along  with  the  current,  they  attach  themselves 
by  the  mouth  to  stones  or  rocks,  and  were,  in  consequence, 
called  "  Petromyzon,"  or  stone-suckers ;  while  the  circular, 
purse-shaped  form  of  the  mouth  induced  the  name  "  Cyclo- 
stomes,"  or  round-mouthed  fishes. 

The  lamprey  is  highly  esteemed  for  the  table,  and  is  there- 
fore much  sought  after  in  the  rivers  where  it  is  found.  Like 
the  eel,  it  ascends  rivers  in  the  spring,  and  returns  to  salt 
water  in  the  fall.  Sir  W.  Jardine  supposes  they  spawn  in 
fresh  water,  but  he  probably  confounds  them  with  the  river 
lamprey,  which  is  a  more  common  fish,  and  less  sought  after 
by  the  epicure.  It  is  known  that  the  marine  lamprey  at- 
taches itself  to  vessels  for  traversing  the  coasts,  rivers,  and 
canals ;  and  some  Continental  natiiralists  argue  that,  as  the 
lamprey  is  much  slower  than  the  eel,  but  visits  the  upper 
parts  of  rivers  about  the  time  when  salmon  and  shad  appear 
there,  it  must  therefore  attach  itself  by  its  mouth  to  the  sal- 
mon and  shad,  and  is  by  them  towed  up  the  rivers.  I  think 
the  idea  absurd,  though  it  has  the  sort  of  sanctional  belief 
of  Doctor  Gunther,  and  that  which  Professor  Agassiz  gives 
against  the  turtle's  willingness  to  be  turned  on  its  back. 
That  the  marine  lamprey  is  a  more  active  fish  than  it  has 
credit  for  being  is  probably  nearer  the  truth. 

Both  eels  and  lampreys  may  be  cultivated  by  cutting  ca- 
nals through  soft  marsh  and  swamp  lands  to  connect  with 
tidal  waters,  as  they  redaily  enter  such  inlets  for  food,  and, 
after  they  grow  large  and  fat,  and  turn  toward  salt  water, 
close  the  copper-wire  gates  on  them,  and  lead  them  by  other 
sluices  to  chambers  from  which  there  is  no  egress. 
,  The  eel  fishery  at  Comacchio  nets  annually  170,000.  The 
Po  is  a  shallow,  sluggish  river,  which  debouches  into  the 
Adriatic  by  its  legs  of  the  Reno  and  Yolano,  between  which 
is  a  large  swamp  and  numerous  lagoons.  Here  eels,  which 
enter  in  the  spring  and  fatten  through  the  summer,  are  in- 
tercepted on  their  way  back  to  sea  in  the  fall  by  closing 
the  main  outlets,  and  leading  them  by  devious  channels  to 


Anothee  Fish  Aekived.  439 

pounds  prepared  for  their  reception.  They  are  then  salted, 
some  smoked,  some  roasted  and  salted,  while  the  markets  of 
Milan,  Verona,  Padua,  Venice,  and  other  cities  are  supplied 
with  fresh  ones.  The  same  could  be  done  along  a  hundred 
rivers  on  the  Atlantic  coast ;  but  we  do  not  yet  realize  the 
scarcity  of  fish. 

QUEER  FISHES. 

The  estuary  catfish  is  an  oviparous  abdominal,  and  one  of 
the  recent  visitants  to  our  coasts  and  estuaries  from  the  Ba- 
hama Banks.  The  first  rays  of  the  dorsal  and  pectoral  fins 
are  rigid ;  second  dorsal  adipose ;  head  broad,  and  depressed 
on  the  top,  with  small  catfish  eyes  placed  far  apart ;  long  an- 
tennae ;  two  distinct  nostrils  at  end  of  nose,  with  ear- vents  at 
the  side,  below  the  eyes.  It  is  without  scales,  and  its  blue 
back  mellows  to  pink  sides  and  white  abdomen.  Its  colors 
and  brilliant  sheen  are  like  the  Spanish  mackerel's,  without 
its  spots.  It  is  leather-mouthed,  and  the  mouth  small,  armed 
with  a  cushion  of  fine,  needle-pointed  teeth  round  the  borders 
of  both  jaws,  showing  that  it  may  forage  on  Crustacea  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  waters  generally.  An  individual  20 
inches  long  weighed  scant  two  pounds,  and  it  seldom  attains 
to  a  greater  weight  than  ten  pounds ;  and,  from  its  great  del- 
icacy, it  resembles  both  the  lady-cat  of  the  Missouri  River 
and  the  Spanish  mackerel  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  Though 
generally  captured  in  fykes,  it  is  a  bottom-biter  to  the  angle, 
with  menhaden  or  shedder-crab  baits. 

The  silure  is  a  native  of  the  River  Danube,  and,  from  the 
high  esteem  in  which  it  is  held  throughout  Europe  as  a  table 
luxury,  acclimatizers  and  pisciculturists  have  introduced  it 
into  most  of  the  waters  of  Germany,  some  of  France,  and  a 
few  of  England.  Bertram,  in  his  "  Treasures  of  the  Sea," 
says  of  the  Silurus  glanis  that  its  character  is  rather  under 
a  cloud,  as  its  capacious  maw  has  been  said  to  contain  the 
arm  and  shoulder  of  a  man ;  and  from  the  immense  weight 
to  which  it  attains,  of  from   200  lbs.  to  300  lbs.,  and  the 


440 


Fishing  in  American  Watees. 


knowledge  that  it  is  the  most  voracious  of  all  fresh-water 
fishes,  the  story  gains  credence. 

It  is  a  bottom-feeding  fish,  like  the  catfish,  and,  like  that,  it 


No.  1.  Estuary  Catfish.    No.  2.  The  Silure,  or  Silurus  glanis  of  the  Danuhe. 

is  a  great  gormandizer,  thinning  off  the  frogs,  and  proving  a 
perfect  terror  to  all  young  fishes  of  the  ordinary  families. 
As  fattening  this  fish  for  market  is  very  expensive,  it  would 
scarcely  pay  to  import  it  for  stocking  any  of  the  American 
waters  but  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  where  it  would  form 
one  more  family  of  the  catfish  species,  and  make  up  their  sum 
to  six  varieties  of  this  ugly-looking  delicaty.  The  London 
Times  states  that  the  Silurus  glanis  rises  to  the  ponderosity 
of  over  300  lbs.,  and  "  has  been  known  to  reach  the  enormous 
weight  of  54  lbs.  in  four  years ;  that  its  flesh  somewhat  re- 
sembles veal  in  appearance,  and  partakes  of  the  rich  flavor 
of  the  eel." 


SECTION  THIRD. 

FISHES   FOR   ACCLIMATIZING   IN  AMERICAN  RIVERS. 

The  Inde,  a  fish  somewhat  resembling  the  shad,  grows  to 
the  weight  of  nine  pounds ;  subsists  on  aquatic  plants  and  in- 
sects ;  affords  good  sport  to  the  angler.  It  is  found  in  Scan- 
dinavian waters. 


Fishes  ]yaGHT  Impkove  by  Travel.  441 

The  Salmo  Hucho,  or  the  huchen^  is  a  very  voracious  fish, 
and  would  do  well  in  our  Western  rivers.  It  can  be  import- 
ed from  Huningue.     It  affords  good  sport  to  the  angler. 

The  Mountain  Mullet  is  said  by  Mr.  Francis  to  be  "  one 
of  the  most  delicious  edibles  to  be  found  among  fish."  It  in- 
habits rapid  streams,  grows  to  the  weight  of  two  or  three 
pounds,  is  fished  for  with  light  tackle,  and  is  rapturous  sport 
for  the  anglfer.  It  is  abundant  in  Jamaica,  and  the  streams 
of  the  Southern  States  may  easily  be  stocked  with  it. 

The  Scandinavian  Chaer  is  a  delicious  fish  of  from  three 
to  five  pounds'  weight,  is  fine  game  for  the  fly,  and  might  be 
successfully  introduced  into  the  waters  of  the  Northern  and 
Eastern  States, 

Ombee  Chevalier. — This  is  regarded  as  the  most  rare  Eu- 
ropean fish  delicacy.  It  is  found  in  the  Lake  of  Geneva  and 
many  other  waters  of  Switzerland,  its  eggs  commanding  a 
cent  each  at  the  fish-cultural  establishment  of  Huningue,  in 
France.  This  fish,  of  the  genus  Salmo,  and  running  from 
eight  to  twelve  pounds  in  weight,  may  be  acclimatized,  and 
all  the  Northern  waters  in  America  readily  stocked  with  it. 
So  with  the  Salmo  umhla  and  the  salvalinus.  They  are  rath- 
er more  nearly  related  to  the  families  of  salmon  and  trout 
than  are  the  charr,  and  from  what  I  have  heard  of  the  Moose- 
head  Lake  trout,  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  it  is 
an  ombre  chevalier. 

The  Grayling. — This  fish  affords  the  fly-fisher  as  great  a 
treat  as  any  fish  belonging  to  the  family  of  the  genus  Salmo^ 
provided  it  be  fished  for  with  delicate  fly-tackle.  It  usually 
ranges  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  inches  in  length,  and  from 
two  to  four  pounds  in  weight.  The  rivers  of  New  England 
and  New  York  might  be  readily  stocked  with  this  white- 
meated  luxury. 

A  few  rivers  and  lakes  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence — emi- 
nently those  inhabited  by  pike,  pickerel,  perch,  and  the  fresh- 
water families  of  bass— might  be  economically  stocked  with 
Maskinonge,  which  is  the  head  of  the  genus  Esox  as  well  in 


442 


Fishing  m  American  Waters. 


edible  qualities  as  in  size,  and  in  saltatory  powers  and  gamy- 
habits  while  playing  on  the  angler's  hook. 

The  WiNNiNiSH,  of  the  upper  waters  of  the  Saguenay  River, 
in  Canada,  should  by  all  means  be  introduced  to  the  rivers 
of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  It  is  the  richest  game  for  its 
size  of  any  belonging  to  the  genus  Salmo,  and  a  higher  lux- 
ury for  the  table  than  any  other  of  the  numerous  salmon 
families. 

"  But,  after  all,"  to  use  an  American  phrase  of  emphatic 
significance,  the  brook  trout  and  salmon  of  our  Northern  wa- 
ters are  among  the  best  fresh- water  fishes  in  the  world  for 
both  the  epicure  and  the  angler.  Add  to  these  the  numer- 
ous delicacies  of  whitefish,  cisco,  black  bass,  and  the  farther 
armies  of  our  lakes  and  rivers,  with  the  teeming  millions  of 
our  coasts  and  estuaries,  and  we  should  be  satisfied  if  we 
can  continue  our  present  ample  store  until  we  can  conven- 
iently add  a  few  kinds  more. 


The  Short  Scnfish. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX. 


COOKERY  ADAPTED  TO  THE  RESOURCES  OF  SPORTSMEN 
IN  THE  WILDERNESS  OR  ON  THE  WAVE. 

OOKING  in  the  wilderness  is  a 
high  art.  It  is  not  sup- 
posed that  these  simple  di- 
rections will  be  of  service 
to  that  class  of  sportsmen 
who  take  to  the  woods  or 
water  a  retinue  of  cooks 
and  attendants,  but  they 
may  be  of  use  to  those 
who  have  a  keen  appetite 
for  the  more  rugged  feat- 
ures of  such  a  life. 

An  officer  of  the  Ameri- 
can Army,  who  made  me 
several  valuable  contribu- 
tions to  this  department, 
states:  "A  sportsman  ig- 
norant of  these  matters  is  an  entire  stranger  to  that  which 
constituted  in  my  day  one  of  the  most  agreeable  phases  of 
fishing  and  hunting  life.  With  some  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject, he  can  at  least  instruct  others  if  he  dislikes  the  practice 
himself;  othei*wise  he  becomes  a  mere  dependent  on  those 
who  may  be  more  ignorant  than  himself  On  the  plains  of 
the  West,  in  the  lake  region  of  Canada,  in  the  lower  prov- 
inces, and  on  the  waters  of  Maine,  he  might,  and  would,  of 
course,  subsist,  and  so  would  the  Indian  and  the  Esquimaux, 


446  Appendix. 

but  with  this  difference,  that  while  the  latter  are  ignorant 
of  any  better  or  more  agreeable  food,  the  modern  sports- 
man would  be  half  his  time  hankering  after  his  flesh-pots  at 
home." 

BOILING   POTATOES. 

Wash  them,  cut  off  each  end,  put  them  in  a  pot  of  cold 
water,  with  a  tea-spoonful  of  salt  for  every  quart,  cover  them 
with  a  lid,  and  let  the  water  merely  cover  them ;  place  them 
over  a  good  fire,  and  boil  so  fast  that  the  water  tumbles,  un- 
til you  can  stick  a  dining-fork  easily  through  them ;  then 
pour  all  the  water  off,  and  take  the  lid  off,  placing  the  pot 
on  some  embers  beside  the  fire.  Do  not  leave  the  least  wa- 
ter in  the  pot,  or  it  will  steam  them,  and  prevent  them  from 
drying  mealy. 

ROASTING   POTATOES. 

Wash  and  cut  off  the  ends  of  the  potatoes  (especially  the 
seed-end)  and,  when  dry,  draw  the  coals  of  the  fire  forward 
and  place  the  potatoes  on  the  embers,  cover  them  with  hot 
ashes,  then  with  embers,  topping  off  with  coals,  and  after  they 
have  been  roasting  half  an  hour,  try  them. 

QUICK-MADE    YEAST. 

Take  a  pint  of  new  milk,  a  tea-spoonful  of  salt,  and  table- 
spoonful  of  flour,  and  stir  well  together;  set  it  by  the  fire 
and  keep  it  lukewarm,  and  it  will  be  ready  for  use  in  an  hour. 
It  is  necessary  to  use  twice  the  ordinary  quantity  of  this  yeast, 
and  it  must  be  soon  used  or  it  is  good  for  nothing.  It  is  suit- 
ed to  make  biscuits  in  a  hurry,  but  bread  made  of  it  dries 
soon. 

QUICK-MADE   EOLLS. 

Mix  well  together  one  quart  of  flour,  two  small  tea-spoon- 
fuls of  cream  of  tartar,  one  tea-spoonful  of  soda,  and  one  pint 
of  milk,  and  bake  immediately. 


Appendix.  M-7 


FRENCH   EOLLS. 

Take  one  egg,  one  cup  of  milk  (or  water  in  lieu  of  it),  three 
spoonfuls  of  leaven,  one  spoonful  of  butter,  a  little  salt,  and 
as  much  flour  as  will  make  it  a  thick  paste;  then  make  it 
into  rolls,  and  when  well  risen  bake  them  in  an  oven,  covered 
dish,  or  fry-pan. 

A   PERFECT    OMELET. 

Take  six  eggs,  leaving  out  the  whites  of  two ;  beat  them  till 
they  are  very  light,  and  add  pepper  and  salt  to  your  taste ;  di- 
vide two  ounces  of  butter  into  small  pieces  and  put  them  into 
the  eggs. 

Put  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  beef  or  veal  drippings  into  a 
fry-pan,  and  when  they  boil  put  in  the  eggs ;  fry  gently  till 
of  a  light  brown  on  the  under  side ;  add  parsley  if  you  wish 
it  plain,  and  then  double  it  over  and  serve. 

If  you  wish  it  of  cheese,  beat  it  in  with  the  eggs  in  an 
earthen  dish  if  you  have  one.  For  veal,  ham,  kidney,  or  oys- 
ters, they  must.be  first  cooked,  and  then  put  in  just  before 
the  omelet  is  doubled  over. 

SCRAMBLED   EGGS. 

Beat  six  eggs  enough  to  mix  white  and  yolk  together ;  put 
two  ounces  of  butter  in  a  pan  set  on  the  fire,  and  when  melt- 
ed, take  off  the  pan,  and  add  salt,  pepper,  and,  if  you  like,  a 
pinch  of  nutmeg ;  mix  it  in ;  then  add  the  eggs,  with  a  table- 
spoonful  of  gravy  or  essence  of  beef;  put  the  pan  again  over 
a  slow  fire,  stir  constantly  till  cooked  to  suit,  and  serve  warm. 

TO    FRY    SALT   PORK   NICELY. 

Cut  it  in  thin  slices,  and  put  it  in  a  fry-pan  covered  with 
hot  water ;  let  it  boil  up  once,  and  then  pour  it  off;  shake  a 
little  pepper  over  it ;  let  it  fry  on  both  sides  in  its  own  fat, 
then  take  out  the  pieces  and  add  to  the  gravy  a  large  tea- 
spoon of  flour ;  stir  it  till  smooth  and  free  of  lumps ;  then  add 


4:48  Appendix. 

a  cup  of  milk ;  stir  over  the  fire  a  few  minutes ;  shake  more 
pepper  over  it ;  then  pour  it  over  the  pork,  and  serve ;  or  thin- 
sliced  boiled  potatoes,  or  fried  or  boiled  cold  parsnips,  may  be 
fried  in  the  gravy  when  the  pork  is  taken  out. 

CLAM    OR    OYSTER   FRITTERS. 

Open  and  dry  them  with  a,  towel;  mix  two  well-beaten 
eggs,  somewhat  less  than  half  a  pint  of  thin  liquor  and  half  a 
pint  of  milk  (or  the  same  quantity  of  liquor  in  addition  if  you 
have  no  milk),  with  a  pint  of  flour;  beat  it  thoroughly  to- 
gether till  it  is  free  from  lumps ;  then  stir  in  the  clams  or  oys- 
ters ;  cut  up  some  salt  pork  in  small  pieces,  and  try  it  out  in 
a  fry-pan,  and  remove  the  pieces  of  pork.  When  the  fat  is 
boiling  hot,  put  in  your  clams  or  oysters  with  a  large  spoon, 
with  one  or  two  clams,  etc.,  and  batter  in  each  spoonful.  Let 
them  brown,  and  then  turn  them  over;  as  soon  as  done,  re- 
move them  from  the  pan,  and  lay  them  on  a  gridiron  with  a 
dish  under  it  to  catch  the  drippings.  There  should  always 
be  enough  fat  in  the  pan  to  cover,  or  nearly  cover  the  frit- 
ters. 

SMOKED   BEEF   AND   EGGS. 

Shave  half  a  pound  of  beef  thin,  and  if  very  salt  put  it  in  a 
fry-pan  and  cover  it  with  boiling  water ;  set  it  on  the  fire  and 
let  the  water  come  to  a  boil,  then  pour  off  the  water ;  put  in 
a  piece  of  lard,  beef  drippings,  or  suet  cut  fine,  about  the  size 
of  two  hens'  eggs ;  shake  pepper  over  it  to  taste,  and  fry  for 
a  few  minutes  over  a  quick  fire ;  then  pour  over  it  as  many 
well-beaten  eggs  as  you  please ;  stir  up  all  together  till  the . 
eggs  are  cooked  to  taste,  and  serve.  In  lieu  of  eggs,  dredge 
the  beef  over  with  flour,  or  add  a  tablespoon  or  two  of  canned 
tomato,  if  you  have  it. 

HAM   GRAVY   AND  TOAST. 

Take  the  remains  of  a  ham ;  break  or  saw  the  bones  small ; 
put  them  in  a  sauce-pan  with  hot  water  enough  to  cover 


Appendix.  449 

chern ;  let  them  simmer  slowly  over  the  fire  till  the  marrow 
is  extracted  from  the  bones,  then  take  the  pan  ofi'the  fire  and 
strain  the  contents ;  add  a  little  pepper,  fine  sage ;  dredge  in 
a  table-spoon  of  flour  previously  browned  in  a  fry-pan,  and  a 
tea-spoon  of  butter ;  set  it  over  the  fire  again  and  stir  for  a 
few  moments;  lay  your  toast  in  a  dish,  and  pour  the  gravy 
over  it,  and  serve  hot. 

CORN-MEAL  FRITTERS. 

Beat  three  eggs  very  light ;  then  mix  them  with  a  pint  of 
milk,  a  tea-spoon  of  salt,  and  enough  yellow  meal  to  make  a 
thin  batter ;  have  lard,  beef  drippings,  or  pork  in  a  fry-pan 
boiling  hot,  and  then  put  in  the  batter  with  a  large  spoon, 
and  fry  each  side  brown ;  when  done,  put  them  in  some  dish 
where  the  fat  on  them  can  drip  off. 

FRIED   POTATOES. 

Peel  and  cut  raw  potatoes,  thick  or  thin ;  let  them  lie  in 
salt  water  as  long  as  convenient ;  have  your  fat  very  hot ;  put 
in  your  potatoes,  and  as  soon  as  brown  remove  them  with  a 
skimmer  into  some  perforated  dish,  or  on  a  cloth  where  the 
fat  can  drip  from  them  and  leave  them  dry  and  crisp.  The 
fat  must  be  as  hot  as  possible. 

YENISON   SAUSAGES. 

Take  equal  quantities  of  the  odds  and  ends  of  rhw  venison 
(or  other  fresh  meat)  and  old  salt  pork ;  chop  fine ;  add  pep- 
per and  sage,  or  other  herbs  to  taste ;  make  them  into  small 
cakes,  and  fry  in  a  pan  without  any  fat,  that  in  the  sausage 
being  enough.  Venison  is  best ;  the  meat  from  the  neck  and 
fore-quarters  is  as  good  as  any  other  part  for  this  purpose ; 
three  tea-spoonfuls  of  sage,  one  and  a  half  of  salt,  and  one  of 
pepper  to  a  pound  of  meat  is  a  good  proportion. 


450  Appendix. 


VENISON   SAUCE. 

Half  a  pint  of  port  or  other  wine  made  hot,  a  table-spoon- 
ful of  pulverized  white  sugar,  currant  jelly,  and  a  piece  of 
butter  the  size  of  an  egg,  will  make  an  excellent  sauce. 

LIVER   AND   KIDNEY   BROCHET. 

Split  the  kidney  (if  of  beef )  lengthways  in  four  equal  parts ; 
then  cut  them  crossways  into  pieces  about  half  an  inch  thick. 
If  they  are  of  smaller  animals,  cut  them  crossways  only,  and 
in  all  cases  remove  the  fat  and  the  stringy  parts ;  then  cut 
your  liver  and  salt  pork  as  near  as  may  be  of  a  size  and  thick- 
ness of  the  pieces  of  kidney ;  put  a  piece  of  kidney  on  a  skew- 
er or  stiff  piece  of  wire,  then  a  piece  of  pork,  then  a  piece  of 
liver,  then  a  piece  of  pork,  then  a  piece  of  kidney,  and  so  on 
till  the  skewer  or  wire  is  full;  press  them  well  together; 
drive  two  small  crotched  sticks  into  the  ground  before  the 
fire,  and  rest  the  ends  of  the  skewer  on  each  crotch ;  put  a 
dish  under  it  to  catch  the  drippings;  turn  and  baste  from 
time  to  time  till  the  pork  looks  dried ;  or  bake  them  in  an 
oven  with  the  ends  of  the  skewers  resting  on  the  edge  of  a 
tin  dish.  Either  kidney  or  liver  alone  with  pork  is  just  as 
good. 

SCALLOPED   OYSTERS. 

Drain  a' quart  of  oysters  from  their  liquor;  butter  the  sides 
and  bottom  of  a  deep  tin  dish,  and  put  in  the  bottom  a  layer 
of  bread-crumbs  or  grated  biscuit ;  season  the  oysters  with 
pepper,  salt,  and  a  little  mace  or  nutmeg ;  cover  the  crumbs 
with  a  layer  of  oysters,  and  spread  over  them  several  small 
lumps  of  butter ;  then  add  another  layer  of  crumbs,  and 
again  a  layer  of  oysters,  and  so  on  till  the  dish  is  nearly  full ; 
let  the  last  or  top  layer  be  of  crumbs,  and  fill  up  with  the 
oyster  juice ;  cover  the  pan  with  a  tin  plate  (if  you  have 
no  bake-oven) ;  then  put  live  coals  on  and  under  it,  and  bake 
brown. 


Appendix.  451 


Split  the  fish  along  the  back ;  wipe  it  clean  and  dry ;  pour 
over  it  oil,  with  pepper  and  salt,  and  let  it  soak  in  this  as  long 
as  convenient — the  longer  the  better ;  then  boil  it  first  on  the 
inside  (as  all  fish  should  be  boiled) ;  then  turn  it  over,  basting 
it  from  time  to  time  with  the  oil,  etc. ;  mix  thoroughly  a  piece 
of  butter,  some  chopped  parsley,  salt,  and  pepper  together, 
and  put  it  in  a  dish ;  when  the  fish  is  done,  put  it  on  the  mix- 
ture and  serve  hot. 

DANIEL  Webster's  chowder. 

4  table-spoonfuls  of  onions,  fried  with  pork. 

1  quart  of  boiled  potatoes,  well  mashed. 

1^  lbs.  sea-biscuit,  broken. 

1  tea-spoonful  of  thyme,  mixed  with  one  of  summer  savory, 

i  bottle  mushroom  catsup. 

1  bottle  of  port  or  claret. 

i  nutmeg,  grated. 

A  few  cloves,  mace,  and  alspice. 

6  lbs.  fish,  sea  bass  or  cod,  cut  in  slices. 

25  oysters,  a  little  black  pepper,  and  a  few  slices  of  lemon. 
The  whole  put  in  a  pot  and  covered  with  an  inch  of  water, 
boiled  for  an  hour  and  gently  stirred. 

MAJOR   HENSHAW'S   CHOWDER. 

Cut  up  a  pound  and  a  half  or  two  pounds  of  old  salt  pork 
into  small  pieces,  and  put  it  in  a  pot  that  has  a  close  cover. 
Put  in  four  table-spoonfuls  of  sliced  onions  when  the  pork  is 
nearly  tried  out,  and  when  the  pork  is  entirely  tried  out  re- 
move the  pieces  with  a  skimmer  or  large  spoon. 

Then  take  six  pounds  of  sea  or  striped  bass,  cod,  or  any 
other  firm  fish,  and  cut  it  in  slices ;  a  pound  and  a  half  of 
broken  biscuit ;  twenty-five  large  or  fifty  small  oysters  (these 
maybe  omitted  if  out  of  season);  one  quart  of  boiled  pota- 
toes well  mashed ;  half  a  dozen  large,  or  eight  or  ten  small 


462  Appendix. 

tomatoes  sliced  (or  half  a  bottle  tomato  catsup  instead) ;  one 
bottle  port  or  claret,  or  other  wine  (the  two  former  are  best) ; 
half  a  nutmeg  grated,  a  tea-spoonful  each  of  fine  summer  sa- 
vory and  thyme,  and  a  few  cloves,  mace,  allspice,  black  pep- 
per, and  slices  of  lemon.  Put  the  first  five  articles  in  the  pot 
in  layers,  and  alternately,  in  the  order  above  stated ;  sprinkle 
over  each  layer  a  portion  of  each  of  the  other  ingredients, 
then  put  in  water  enough  to  cover  all.  Cover  close,  and  let 
it  simmer,  and  stir  occasionally  till  done.  It  should  not  boil, 
but  simmer  slowly,  and  the  cover  should  be  taken  off"  as  sel- 
dom as  possible ;  on  this  the  flavor  depends.  When  the  fish 
on  top  is  done,  serve  up  the  chowder. 

CLAM   CHOWDEE. 

Butter  the  bottom  and  sides  of  a  deep  tin  or  earthen  dish ; 
strew  the  bottom  thickly  with  bread  crumbs  or  rolled  crack- 
er (soaked) ;  sprinkle  over  it  pepper  and  pieces  of  butter  the 
size  of  a  hickory-nut,  and  parsley  chopped  fine ;  then  put  in  a 
double  layer  of  clams.  Sprinkle  also  over  them  pepper  and 
pieces  of  butter,  then  another  layer  of  soaked  crumbs  or  crack- 
er, and  again  a  double  layer  of  clams,  pepper,  butter,  and  so 
on,  the  last  layer  being  of  crumbs ;  add,  finally,  a  cup  of  milk, 
or,  in  lieu  of  it,  water.  Put  a  plate  over  the  top,  with  coals 
above  and  below,  or  bake  in  an  oven  three  quarters  of  an 
hour.  If  too  dry,  before  it  is  done  add  enough  milk  or  water 
to  moisten  it. 

Fifty  clams,  half  a  pound  of  soda  biscuit  or  bread  crumbs, 
and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  batter,  is  the  quantity  necessary 
for  this  receipt. 

FISH   EN   GRILLE    OU   EN  PAPILLOTE. 

Scale  and  draw  your  fish,  wipe  it  dry,  but  use  no  water. 
Cut  ofi"  the  head,  tail,  and  fins.  Take  dry,  mealy  potatoes 
boiled  and  mashed,  and  mix  plenty  of  butter  with  them; 
when  thoroughly  mixed  into  paste  or  dough,  envelop  each 
fish  in  a  coating  of  them,  and  broil  it  on  a  gridiron  till  done. 


Appendix.  453 

or  wrap  it  in  oiled  or  greased  white  paper,  and  bake  in  hot 
ashes.     Small  fish  are  best  by  this  process. 

FISH    SAUCE. 

Take  half  a  pound  of  anchovies,  half  a  pint  of  port  or  other 
wine,  a  gill  of  strong  vinegar,  a  small  onion,  a  few  cloves,  a 
little  allspice  and  whole  pepper,  a  few  blades  of  mace,  half  a 
handful  of  green  or  dried  thyme,  and  a  small  lemon  with  the 
peel  sliced.  Put  all  in  a  saucepan,  cover  it  close,  and  stew 
gently  until  the  anchovies  are  dissolved ;  then  strain  ofi*,  and 
bottle  the  liquor  for  use  when  wanted. 

WHITE    SAUCE   FOR   FISH. 

Mix  well  together  a  lump  of  butter,  a  little  warm  water, 
and  a  table-spoonful  of  flour,  and  add,  if  you  have  it,  a  little 
fine-chopped  parsley ;  let  it  simmer  slowly  a  few  minutes,  and 
pour  over  or  serve  with  the  fish. 

SAUCE    A   LA  MAITRE   d'hoTEL. 

Mix  and  knead  well  together  in  a  bowl  two  ounces  of  but- 
ter, a  table-spoonful  of  chopped  parsley,  and  the  juice  of  half 
a  lemon ;  add  salt  to  your  taste.  Vinegar  may  be  substituted 
for  lemon,  but  it  is  not  so  good.  Pepper,  chopped  chives,  and 
some  grated  nutmeg  may  be  added,  if  liked. 

STEWED   FISH. 

Clean  and  wipe  the  fish;  heat  from  two  to  six  ounces  of 
butter  in  a  pan  (according  to  the  size  of  the  fish) ;  heat  hot ; 
then  put  in  your  fish,  and  let  it  remain  over  the  fire  five  min- 
utes ;  turn  it  over,  and  let  it  remain  five  minutes  more,  and 
be  careful  not  to  let  it  bum.  Take  the  fish  out,  and  put  it  in 
another  stew-pan  with  a  cover ;  dredge  some  flour  into  the 
juice  and  butter,  let  it  remain  over  the  fire  three  minutes, 
and  pour  it  over  the  fish.  Then  take  a  quarter  of  a  pound 
of  butter,  roll  it  well  in  flour,  and  put  it  in  with  the  fish  also ; 
add  two  blades  of  mace,  ten  cloves,  a  little  cinnamon,  red 


454  Appendix. 

pepper,  and  salt,  with  just  enough  water  to  keep  it  from 
burning;  cover  close,  and  let  it  stew  slowly.  When  half 
done,  add  a  pint  of  port  or  other  wine ;  when  done,  put  the 
fish  in  a  dish,  pour  the  sauce  over  it,  and  garnish  with  lemon 
or  horseradish. 

BECHAMEL   SAUCE. 

Mix  dry  in  a  tin  saucepan  two  ounces  of  butter  and  a  table- 
spoonful  of  flour ;  when  well  mixed,  add  a  pint  of  milk,  and 
dissolve  the  butter  and  flour  paste  in  it ;  set  it  on  the  fire,  and 
stir  constantly.  When  it  gets  rather  thick,  take  it  ofl"  and 
pour  into  it  the  yolk  of  an  egg  (previously  well  beaten  in  a 
cup),  and  add  a  tea-spoonful  of  water ;  salt  and  white  pepper 
to  taste.     Mix  it  all  well  again,  and  it  is  ready  for  use. 

TO  MAKE   DELICIOUS   BUTTER   EASILY. 

Spread  out  three  clean  coarse  towels  one  over  the  other, 
and  lay  a  pint  of  thick  cream  on  the  top ;  tie  up  all  the  tow- 
els as  close  as  possible,  and  bury  them  eighteen  inches  deep  in 
dry  earth  for  twenty-four  hours ;  then  take  them  up,  put  the 
cream  in  a  cool  earthen  basin,  and  stir  it  for  five  minutes  in 
summer  or  fifteen  minutes  in  winter,  and  you  will  have  a 
lump  of  as  cool,  fresh,  delicious  butter  as  you  could  desire. 

A   ROYAL   SALAD. 

Let  your  lettuce  be  perfectly  dry.  First  boil  an  egg  fully 
fifteen  minutes ;  then  take  the  yolk,  a  tea-spoonful  of  salt, 
three  tea  -  spoonfuls  of  pure,  dry  mustard,  a  little  Cayenne 
pepper,  half  a  dozen  very  young  green  onions  chopped  very 
fine:  this  must  not  be  omitted;  if  not  to  be  got,  a  due  pro- 
portion of  the  youngest  onions  must  be  used.  Mix  all  the 
above,  except  the  onions,  well  together ;  then  add  and  mix  in 
well  a  table-spoonful  of  vinegar ;  then  add  two  table-spoon- 
fuls of  oil,  and  mix  it  in  thoroughly ;  then  mix  in  thorough- 
ly half  a  tea-spoonful  of  first-rate  brown  sugar ;  then  cut  up 
your  lettuce  of  a  size  to  taste,  and  the  white  of  the  egg  small, 


Appendix:.  455 

and  mix  them  with  the  onions,  turning  them  over  carefully 
till  well  incorporated ;  after  which  mix  all  the  ingredients  to- 
gether, taking  care  not  to  bruise  the  leaves  of  the  lettuce,  and 
serve  immediately. 

When  celery  is  used  instead  of  lettuce,  double  or  treble 
the  quantity  of  mustard  is  necessary.  It  can  not  be  excelled 
if  the  different  mixtures  are  thoroughly  done. 

AMELIA   SALAD. 

Beat  the  yolk  of  a  raw  q^%  with  two  table-spoonfuls  of  oil ; 
mash  two  moderate-sized  boiled  potatoes  thoroughly;  add 
(according  to  taste)  salt,  mustard,  and  vinegar  to  the  oil  and 
Q^^  (and  add  more  oil  if  preferred) ;  then  incorporate  the 
whole  well  together,  after  which  cut  your  lettuce  to  taste, 
and  mix  it  in  carefully,  so  as  not  to  bruise  the  leaves. 

In  using  celery,  a  larger  quantity  of  all  the  ingredients  is 
necessary. 

POTATO   SALAD. 

Take  cold  boiled  potatoes  and  slice  them ;  rub  the  dish  in- 
tended for  them  with  garlic ;  make  a  dressing  of  oil,  vinegar, 
pepper,  salt,  and  parsley,  if  you  have  it,  or  lettuce,  cut  very 
fine,  and  mix  all  together.  To  the  above  may  be  added  any 
odds  and  ends  of  meat,  fowl,  or  fish  you  have,  cut  into  pieces 
of  the  size  of  dice.  Ham,  cold  veal,  anchovies  freshened,  or 
herrings  are  eifcellent  with  it ;  also  any  cold  fish  that  is 
coarse-grained  and  firm,  such  as  porgee,  sea  bass,  salmon,  and 
salmon-trout. 

FRENCH   PILAU. 

Boil  your  fowls  or  other  birds  in  enough  water  to  cover 
them,  and  when  done,  take  them  out.  Take  out  also  a  por- 
tion of  the  liquor ;  then  put  into  the  rest  of  the  liquor  enough 
rice  (previously  well  washed)  to  cover  the  birds.  When  it  is 
done,  take  it  out  and  butter  it  well ;  put  half  of  it  in  a  dish ; 
lay  the  birds  on  it ;  add  the  liquor ;  then  cover  the  birds  with 


456  Appendix. 

the  rest  of  the  rice ;  make  it  smooth,  and  spread  over  it  the 
ijolk  of  two  well-beaten  eggs.  Cover  the  dish  with  a  tin 
plate,  and  coals  above  and  under,  or  bake  in  an  oven,  with  a 
moderate  fire. 

QUAIL,  RAIL,  PLOVER,  AND    OTHER   SMALL   BIRDS, 

lare  prepared  and  cooked  as  directed  for  snipe  and  wood- 
cock, except  that  you  cut  off  the  head,  and  remove  the  crop 
and  trail  before  cooking.  Some  remove  only  the  crop  from 
the  very  small  birds. 

CRANES   AND    HERONS, 

when  young,  are  oftenv  stewed  and  broiled  like  chickens,  and 
are  considered  very  good,  but  I  prefer  to  make  a  soup  of 
them,  with  gumbo. 

Pick  ^nd  dress  them  like  any  fowl;  cut  them  up  with  a 
piece  of  fresh  beef,  or  a  gill  of  the  essence  of  beef  to  two  or 
three  birds,  and  put  all  in  a  pot,  with  a  table-spoonful  of  lard 
or  pork,  an  onion,  sliced  or  not,  as  preferred,  and  water  enough 
to  cook  the  meat.  After  they  have  become  soft,  if  you  have 
them,  add  100  or  less  oysters,  with  their  liquor,  or  soft  or  hard 
crabs  previously  cleaned  and  cut  in  quarters.  Let  it  simmer 
a  couple  of  minutes  or  so,  if  oysters  are  used  with  crabs,  till 
they  are  done.  Just  before  serving,  stir  in,  till  the  soup  be- 
comes mucilaginous,  one  or  two  table-spoonfuls  of  gumbo. 
Okra  is  commonly  called  gumbo ;  their  properties  are  simi- 
lar, but  one  is  a  vegetable  pod,  the  other  a  leaf  The  only 
place  it  can  probably  be  found  at  in  this  city  is  Coolidge  & 
Adams's,  John  Street.     It  is  cheap. 


Thoroughly  pick  and  clean  them ;  make  a  stuffing  of  one 
Q^^^  one  cracker,  and  an  equal  quantity  of  suet  or  butter, 
and  sweet  marjoram  or  sage ;  make  small  balls  of  the  stuffing, 
and  put  one  of  them,  with  a  small  slice  of  salt  pork,  into  each 
bird  ;  dredge  the  birds  well  with  flour,  and  lay  them  close  to- 


Appendix.  457 

gether  in  the  bottom  of  a  pot ;  cover  them  with  water ;  throw- 
in  a  piece  of  butter;  cover  the  pot,  and  let  them  stew  slowly 
for  an  hour  and  a  quarter ;  if  they  are  old  birds,  an  hour  and 
three  quarters. 

ENGLISH    OR   JACK    SNIPE,  AND   WOODCOCK. 

These  birds  live  by  suction,  and  have  no  crop,  the  stomach 
being  somewhat  pear-shaped,  and  about  the  size  of  a  bullet. 
They  should  be  cooked  without  being  drawn,  either  by  broil- 
ing, or  skewered,  with  the  ends  resting  on  crotched  sticks  or 
on  the  sides  of  a  small  tin  pan.  A  small,  thin  slice  of  pork, 
covering  the  breast,  should  be  tied  round  the  bird,  with  a 
slice  or  two  of  toast  laid  under  it  to  receive  the  drippings. 
Cook  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  according  to  size,  before  or 
over  a  lively  fire.  Those  who  do  not  like  the  trail  should 
nevertheless  cook  the  bird  whole,  and  remove  the  trail  after 
it  is  served  up,  otherwise  the  flavor  of'the  bird  is  nearly 
lost.  The  trail,  head,  and  neck  are  worth  all  the  rest  to  ep- 
icures. 

TO   SELECT   MUSHROOMS. 

They  grow  in  open  pasture ;  those  near  or  under  trees  are 
poisonous ;  they  first  appear  very  small,  round  in  shape,  and 
on  a  small  stalk ;  the  upper  part  and  stalk  are  white ;  as  they 
increase  in  size,  the  under  part  gradually  expands,  and  shows 
a  fringe  fir  of  a  fine  salmon  color,  and  so  continues  until  the 
increase  in  size  is  considerable,  when  it  changes  to  a  dark 
brown.  The  poisonous  kind  have  a  yellowish  skin,  and  the 
under  part  is  not  a  clear  salmon  color,  while  the  fringe  or  fir 
is  white  or  yellow.  The  good  smells  pleasantly,  the  other 
rank. 


4:58  Appendix. 


GENERAL  RULES  FOR  COOKING. 
SOUPS. 

Let  them  simmer  rather  than  boil.  Put  cold  water  in  the 
pot,  and  let  it  heat  gradually ;  only  uncover  the  pot  to  skim 
the  soup.  A  tea-spoonful  of  salt  and  a  quart  of  water  to  each 
pound  of  beef  is  a  fair  average.  Remove  every  particle  of 
scum  before  you  put  in  the  vegetables.  If  soup  is  too  thick, 
always  thin  it  with  boiling  water.  Never  put  in  green  vege- 
tables till  the  water  boils.  Hard  or  fast  boiling  makes  meat 
tough  and  hard.  Put  your  herbs  in  when  nearly  done.  All 
soups  require  simmering  from  four  to  five  hours. 

BOILING   VEGETABLES. 

Cabbage  should  boil  an  hour ;  beets,  an  hour  and  a  half; 
parsnips,  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  according  to  size ; 
squashes,  the  larger  end  should  boil  half  an  hour,  the  neck 
pieces  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  longer ;  new  potatoes,  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes ;  old  ones,  from  half  an  hour  to  an  hour, 
according  to  size:  never  let  them  stop  boiling  (if  you  wish 
them  mealy)  till  they  are  done ;  then  turn  off  the  water  and 
let  them  dry. 

BOILING  MEATS. 

Hard  or  fast  boiling  makes  all  meat  dry,  tough,  and  hard. 
Corned  beef  should,  after  being  cooked,  be  left  in  the  liquid 
till  it  is  perfectly  cold,  or  it  will  be  dry.  Fifteen  minutes  to 
each  pound  of  ham  is  a  fair  average.  Hams  and  meat  should 
be  put  in  hot,  but  not  boiling  water ;  cold  water  draws  out 
the  juices.  Beef  tongues  of  a  fair  size  require  full  three  hours' 
boiling. 

BOILING  FISH. 

•     4 

Ten  minutes  to  every  pound  of  fish  is  a  fair  average ;  if 
large  and  thick,  a  few  minutes  longer ;  cover  close ;  simmer 


Aj'PENDDC.  4:59 

rather  than  boil ;  take  out  immediately  when  done.  A  fresh 
cod  of  four  or  five  pounds  takes  about  twenty  minutes  to 
boil.  Never  put  the  fish  in  till  the  water  is  boiling  hot.  Salt 
fish  should  never  boil  for  a  moment,  as  it  makes  it  hard ;  it 
should  lie  in  scalding  water  two  or  three  hours,  and  then  be 
allowed  to  simmer,  and  the  less  water  you  use  and  the  lon- 
ger it  simmers  the  better  it  will  be.  The  fish  is  done  when 
the  meat  is  easily  detached  from  the  bones. 

FRYING   FISH. 

Never  put  your  fish  in  the  pan  till  the  fat  is  boiling  hot. 
Always  cut  your  pork  small,  and  don't  try  it  out  or  otherwise 
cook  it  too  fast,  as  it  will  lose  much  of  its  sweetness.  Score 
the  fish  and  roll  them  in  flour  before  laying  them  in  the 
sparkling  fat.  In  using  lard,  a  table-spoonful  of  salt  to  a 
pound  is  a  fair  average. 

BROILING  FISH. 

Wipe  your  fish,  and  use  as  little  water  in  cleaning  it  as  pos- 
sible. Put  the  inside  of  the  fish  to  the  fire  first.  Mix  thor- 
oughly in  a  dish  a  tea-spoonful  of  salt  and  pepper  with  about 
four  ounces  of  butter,  and  melt  it.  When  your  fish  is  done, 
turn  each  piece  over  and  over  in  the  butter ;  cover  the  dish, 
and  keep  it  hot  till  ready  to  serve. 

BROILING    STEAKS. 

Put  the  steak  on  the  gridiron  for  a  few  moments,  and 
scorch  both  sides ;  then  take  it  ofi*,  and  when  perfectly  cold 
proceed  to  broil  it  to  your  taste ;  this  mode  preserves  the 
juices  of  the  meat. 

No  sportsman's  larder  can  be  complete  now  without  a  few 
cans  of  the  essence  of  beef,  for  making  gravies  and  enriching 
a  soup,  together  with  a  few  herbs  and  spices  for  flavoring. 


4:60  Appendix. 

COMPOUNDING  FANCY  DRINKS. 
EGG    NOGG. 

Take  six  eggs,  a  quart  of  milk,  half  a  pint  of  brandy  (or  a 
gill  each  of  brandy  and  rum),  or  usej  any  other  liquor,  and  six 
table-spoonfuls  of  sugar.  Beat  the  yolks  of  the  eggs  and  the 
sugar  well  together,  and  the  whites  very  hard.  Mix  in  the 
brandy  with  the  yolks,  then  boil  the.  milk,  and  add  it  to  the 
mixture.  When  well  stirred  up,  crown  the  whole  with  the 
whites  of  the  eggs. 

SHERRY-COBBLER. 

Put  in  a  tumbler  a  table-spoonful  and  a  half  of  powdered 
sugar  and  a  slice  or  two  of  lemon ;  then  fill  it  half  full  of 
crushed  ice ;  then  pour  on  it  a  wine-glassful  or  more  of  sher- 
ry. Pour  the  whole  from  tumbler  to  tumbler  till  well  mixed, 
and  drink  through  a  straw,  if  you  have  it. 

MULLED    CIDER. 

Take  a  pint  of  sweet  cider ;  reserve  a  tea-cupful  of  it,  and 
add  to  the  remainder  an  equal  quantity  of  water.  Set  it  to 
boil,  with  a  tea-spoonful  of  whole  allspice  added  to  it ;  then 
beat  three  eggs  very  light,  and  stir  gradually  the  reserved 
cup  of  cider  into  them  ;  then  stir  this  mixture  gradually  into 
the  boiling  cider  and  water,  and  continue  stirring  till  the 
whole  is  smooth;  sweeten  to  taste;  grate  a  little  nutmeg 
over  it,  and  serve  hot  in  tumblers. 

MULLED   WINE 

is  made  in  the  same  way  as  mulled  cider. 

ARRACK  PUNCH. 

Mix  four  tumblers  of  Jamaica  rum  (Antigua  is  best),  three 
quarters  of  a  tumbler  of  arrack,  half  a  tumbler  of  lemon-juice, 
and  the  rind  of  a  lemon  and  a  half;  add  sugar  and  water  equal 


Appendix.  461 

to  twice  the  quantity  of  liquor.     Before  adding  the  sugar  and 
water,  let  the  mixture  stand  some  ten  minutes  or  so. 

CLARET   PUNCH. 

Take  one  bottle  of  claret  or  Burgundy,  one  bottle  of  plain 
soda  (some  prefer  two),  one  lemon,  one  glass  of  sherry,  and 
sugar  to  taste.  Mix  all  well  and  ice  it  thoroughly,  and  at 
the  moment  of  serving  add  another  bottle  of  soda.  This 
punch  is  excellent  in  hot  weather. 

COMMON  PUNCH. 

Mix  well  together  one  tumbler  of  crushed  sugar,  half  a 
tumbler  of  any  liquor,  six  tumblers  of  water,  the  rind  of  two 
lemons  and  the  juice  of  one,  or  half  a  tumbler  of  lemon  sirup, 
and  ice  if  to  be  had. 

AGRAZ. 

Pound  some  unripe  white  grapes,  and  add  some  white  sug- 
ar and  water.  Strain  till  it  acquires  a  very  pale  amber  or 
straw  color ;  then,  if  possible,  freeze  it  in  ice,  and  use.  This 
is  a  Spanish  receipt,  and  is  considered  by  many  of  that  na- 
tion the  most  delicious  and  refeshing  hot-weather  drink  ever 
devised. 

REGAL  PUNCH. 

Peel  twenty-four  lemons ;  steep  the  rinds  for  twelve  hours 
in  two  quarts  of  Jamaica  rum ;  squeeze  the  lemons  on  three 
pounds  and  a  half  of  loaf  sugar ;  add  two  quarts  of  dark 
brandy  and  six  quarts  of  water.  Mix  all  together ;  add  two 
quarts  of  boiled  milk ;  stir  until  the  mixture  curdles ;  strain 
it  through  a  jelly-bag  until  clear;  bottle  and  cork. 

FLIP. 

Put  the  quantity  of  ale,  porter,  or  beer  you  wish  in  a  tin 
cup,  and  add  sugar  to  taste ;  heat  the  end  of  a  thick  piece  of 
iron  red  hot,  plunge  it  in  the  liquor,  and  stir  round  till  the 


462  Appendix. 

liquor  ceases  to  bubble,  and  drink  hot.  This  is  the  most  re- 
freshing and  strengthening  drink  either  before  or  after  a 
hard  day's  hunt  that  I  know  of.  A  piece  of  iron  of  the  shape 
and  size  of  a  large  soldering-iron  is  the  best. 


GENEKAL  REMARKS. 

Although  sportsmen  and  mariners  do  not  seek  either  the 
wilds  or  the  waves  for  the  luxuries  of  the  table,  yet  they  set 
a  higher  estimate  on  heaven's  bounties  than  to  suppose  meat 
and  drink  given  to  sustain  life  only.  They  consider  them 
rather  as  bestowals  for  strength  and  enjoyment  to  man,  and 
as  such  they  are  to  be  used  intellectually  and  in  moderation. 

In  the  foregoing  list  of  edibles,  there  is  not  a  rare  article 
named,  or  one  which  is  cumbrous  to  convey  on  fishing  excur- 
sions. Meats,  sauces,  and  vegetables  of  nearly  all  kinds  are 
now  canned  or  desiccated,  and  put  up  in  convenient  packages 
to  carry,  so  that  for  a  camp  life  of  only  a  fortnight  on  the  ar- 
omatic boughs  of  fir  or  hemlock  it  will  pay  to  provide  them. 

Persons  who  have  never  enjoyed  camp  life  out  of  the  reach 
of  primary  elections  are  not  expected  to  realize  the  great  lux- 
ury of  satisfying  the  cravings  of  real  hunger  caused  by  sport- 
ive exercise  in  the  forest,  and  especially  are  those  creature 
comforts  -double  blessings  when  storm-bound  and  confined 
to  the  camp. 

Thus  much  I  have  considered  necessary  to  state  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  adding  the  culinary  and  bibulous  part  as  an  appen- 
dix, for  there  are  not  wanting  those  who  consider  eating  and 
drinking  undignified  duties. 

Bermuda  onions,  potatoes,  and  salted  side-pork  are  neces- 
saries in  the  wilderness ;  these,  with  eggs  and  flour,  are  about 
the  only  articles  to  be  sent  in  bulk.  Trout  are  cooked  only 
four  ways  in  the  wilderness :  the  large  ones  are  boiled,  or 
rolled  in  a  sheet  of  paper  which  has  been  well  buttered,  then 
protected  farther  by  four  or  five  thicknesses  of  brown  paper, 
when  it  is  placed  on  hot  ashes,  and  covered  with  hot  ashes 


Appendix. 


463 


topped  off  with  live  coals,  and  thus  left  twenty  minutes  for 
every  pound  weight.  When  taken  from  the  fire  the  wrap- 
pers are  removed,  including  the  skin,  which  will  adhere  to 
the  paper,  and  it  is  placed  on  a  hot  plate  and  seasoned  to  the 
taste.  The  third  way  is  to  draw  the  trout,  clip  off  the  fins, 
score  it  across  on  each  side,  roll  it  in  flour,  and  place  it  in 
a  pan  of  sparkling  hot  butter,  or  fat  tried  from  salt  pork ; 
dredge  with  flour,  and  turn  it  several  times  for  a  thick  crust. 
The  fourth  way  is  to  spit  it,  with  a  thin  slice  of  salt  pork 
along  one  side,  on  a  birch  fork,  turning  it  by  hand  over  a 
camp-fire  until  done.  Lemon-juice  is  a  refreshing  luxury  on 
salmon  or  trout.  In  using  sea-biscuits,  soak  them  previously 
in  cold  water;  they  are  then  good  when  fried  in  the  gravy 
left  from  frying  ham  and  eggs. 

To  those  who  can  explain  the  recondite  harmonies  which 
subsist  between  the  velvet  calipash  and  the  verdant  calipee, 
nothing  farther  need  be  added;  and  for  those  who  do  not 
comprehend  them,  words  would  prove  superfluous. 


NOTEWORTHY  ITEMS. 

Drying  Lines. — Fishing  clubs  provide  posts  and  hooks  at 
headquarters  for  drying  lines,  but 
in  wet  or  foggy  weather  they  are 
useless.  Experienced  anglers  there- 
fore generally  carry  a  small  reel 
with  them,  for  linen  bas»-lines,  when 
in  use,  should  be  dried  every  even- 
ing. 

This  reel,  which  is  formed  of  24 
narrow  slats,  tied  at  the  ends  in 
threes,  and  moving  by  a  double 
button  or  screw  in  the  centre, 
closes  like  an  umbrella,  being  light, 
and  occupying  very  little  room  in 

Reel  for  Drying  Lines.      a  trunk.     For  using  it,  fasten  the 


464  Appendix. 

foot  by  a  screw  to  a  board  or  table-leaf;  open  it  by  sliding 
up  on  the  staff  the  lower  base  to  which  the  slats  are  fastened, 
and  fasten  it,  by  the  screw  represented,  to  the  centre-shaft  or 
staff.  Hold  the  line  with  one  hand  and  turn  the  reel  with 
the  other.  The  reel  may  be  bought  at  most  of  the  fishing- 
tackle  stores,  such  as  Clerk's,  Conroy's,  Bates's,  Pritchard's,  in 
New  York,  or  at  Bradford's,  in  Boston. 

Copal  Varnish. — This  is  the  best  varnish  for  tackle,  hook- 
dressings,  etc. 

White  Wax.  —  This  is  made  like  cob^^ler's  wax,  and 
stretched  until  it  becomes  nearly  white,  dry,  and  brittle ;  or 
mix  beeswax,  resin,  and  tallow ;  pour  into  water,  and  stretch 
and  work  it  with  the  hands. 

Spermaceti. — Good  to  dress  lines.  To  take  the  kink  out 
of  linen  lines,  darken  their  color,  and  not  weaken  them  by 
preparation,  dip  them  into  tanner's  or  lamp  oil,  and,  when 
saturated,  hang  them  up  until  they  dry,  when  pack  them  in 
mahogany  dust,  and  leave  them  several  days,  or  until  the 
dust  has  absorbed  the  oil. 

India-rubber  Dressing. — This  is  recommended  both  for 
dressing  lines  and  for  patching  India-rubber  boots.  For 
lines,  cut  into  small  pieces  some  white  rubber  and  dissolve  it 
in  turpentine — about  -^^jj  rubber  and  -j%^^  turpentine.  Set 
the  vessel  containing  them  in  hot  water,  as  you  would  glue ; 
or  rubber  may  be  dissolved  in  chloroform.  Rubber  dressing 
for  lines  is  not  liable  to  crack,  and  is  therefore  preferred  to 
varnish ;  but  spermaceti  is  preferred  by  our  best  fishing-tackle 
manufacturers.  Boiled  linseed  oil  with  a  lump  of  resin,  or  a 
little  gold  size,  is  preferred  by  some. 

To  DRESS  Leather  Wading-boots. — Cut  into  shavings 
some  black  India-rubber  (the  vulcanized  is  not  good  for  these 
preparations),  and  place  them  in  a  vessel  containing  double 
the  amount  of  spirits  of  turpentine ;  place  the  vessel  in  hot 
water  until  the  rubber  dissolves,  when  mix,  and  let  it  cool  so 
as  not  to  burn  the  leather,  and  rub  the  uppers  and  creases 
above  the  sole,  and  they  will  be  water-proof. 


Appendix.  465 

Some  sportsmen  cut  black  rubber  into  shreds  and  mix  it 
with  hot  tallow  until  dissolved,  when  the  mixture  is  supposed 
to  keep  the  boots  both  dry  and  soft. 

To  dress  wading-boots  in  summer,  rub  them  over  every 
morning  while  they  are  in  use  with  a  piece  of  bullock's  scro- 
tum. It  will  prevent  them  from  leaking,  and  render  them  as 
soft  as  chamois-skin. 

To  KEEP  Moth  from  Feathers. — Place  them  in  a  close 
case  with  the  gum  of  camphor,  or,  what  is  better,  with  vanilla 
beans ;  what  is  still  better  is  scrapings  of  Russia  leather. 
Boxes  made  of  cedar  or  sandal- wood  are  the  best.  Tobacco, 
and  both  black  and  red  peppers,  are  good  to  sprinkle  the 
feathers  with,  or  to  place  in  large  amounts  in  the  boxes  of 
feathers. 

To  PRESERVE  Silk-worm  Gut. — Keep  it  neither  wet  nor 
dry.  A  dry  cellar  forms  the  best  store-room  for  it.  Keep  it 
packed  and  out  of  the  air. 

Oil  for  Hooks  and  Reels. — Tliat  from  the  head  or  jaw 
of  the  porpoise  is  the  best. 

Clearing  Ring  should  be  about  two  inches  in  diameter, 
and  half  a  pound  weight  for  coast-fishing ;  one  fourth  pound 
for  fresh-water  fishing.  The  line  attached  to  it  should  be 
wound  on  a  spool  or  reel,  as  shown  on  the  cut  in  the  title- 
page,  or  that  in  salmon -fishing.  In  case  the  hook  gets  fast, 
let  the  ring  run  down  to  dislodge  it ;  or  if  a  salmon  or  striped 
bass  sulks,  let  the  ring  glide  down  on  the  line  to  his  nose,  and 
he  will  generally  change  quarters. 

To  Stain  Gimp. — ^Mr.  Francis  quotes  "  Book  of  the  Pike" 
in  stating :  "  Bright  brass  gimp  is  easily  seen  by  the  fish.  To 
discolor  it,  soak  it  in  a  solution  of  bichlorate  of  platinum 
mixed  with  water — one  of  platinum  to  eight  or  ten  parts  of 
water ;  then  dry  before  the  fire." 

Marine. Glue  is  recommenced  for  covering  splices  and 
securing  ties. 

Silk,  Tinsel,  etc. — To  preserve  them,  keep  them  dry,  and 
away  from  the  fire  and  air. 

Gg 


4:66 


Appendix. 


Peeserving  Water-proofs. — Do  not  hang  them  on  a  nail 
or  peg ;  either  hang  them  over  a  chair-back,  or  spread  them 
out  on  the  tent  floor.  Do  not  dry  either  boots  or  coats  near 
a  fireplace  or  a  stove.  At  our  principal  club-houses  there  is 
a  drying-room ;  but  on  fishing  excursions  it  were  better  not 
to  dry  boots  and  coats  than  to  injure  them. 


feet  dress  for  field-sports; 


Figures  1, 2,  3,  represent  the  sole,  front,  and  side  views.    A  and  13  show  the  laced  lap- 
ping at  the  ankle,  C  the  wide  tongue,  and  D  the  sole. 

I  copy  these  designs  from  a  communication  to  the  Mdd  by 
"  The  Forester,"  who  is  one  of  the  leading  sportsmen  in  En- 
gland and  Scotland.  By  the  wear  of  these  boots  it  is  intend- 
ed that  the  ankle  shall  not  be  easily  sprained,  and  that  the 
alternate  lacings  on  each  side  of  the  instep  keep  the  shoe 
more  natural  and  firm  than  if  laced  on  one  side  only;  and,  be- 
sides, the  lacing  is  less  liable  to  gape. 

In  the  first  place,  the  last  on  which  the  boots  are  made 
should  be  a  shaving  all  round  wider  than  the  naked  foot,  and 
then  the  sole  should  be  a  trifle  larger  than  the  bottom  of  the 
last.  The  heel  should  be  low,  and  extend  forward  in  line 
with  the  front  of  the  ankle-bone.  The  straps  should  be  made 
of  soft  leather,  and,  being  broad  and  flat,  they  gather  the  heel 
portion  of  the  boot  well  up,  and  support  the  ankle  and  instep. 
The  boots  should  be  large,  to  admit  a  heavy  ribbed  stocking 
of  wool,  rather  loose,  for  a  weft  too  close  causes  .the  feet  to 
be  too  warm.  This  writer  objects  to  water-tight  boots,  and 
at  night,  after  a  day's  sport,  he  drains  his  boots,  wipes  them 
out,  greases  them  to  keep  them  soft,  sets  them  in  a  dry  place 


Appendix.  467 

very  remote  from  the  fire,  and  the  next  morning'  he  dons 
them  over  a  pair  of  heavy,  ribbed,  dry  stockings,  and  is  again 
ready  for  the  fray.  Use  small  tacks,  placed  in  threes  on  the 
soles,  and  as  they  lose,  replace  at  evening. 

"  The  Forester"  is  doubtless  right  for  a  shooting-boot,  or 
for  a  boot  to  fish  along  the  stream  for  trout,  or  from  the  rocks 
for  striped  bass ;  but  for  wading,  in  summer  weather,  the 
pegged  shoe  of  the  American  army  regulation  is  the  best  cov- 
ering for  the  feet. 

Stifi"  leathern  leggins,  like  those  worn  by  the  Zouaves,  are 
useful  to  protect  the  shins  when  threading  rough  under- 
growth of  thorns  and  briers  along  a  trout  stream.  For  wad- 
ing-boots  I  have  found  alligator-skin  the  best  uppers  for  the 
feet,  and  Russia  leather  the  best  for  the  legs. 

Getchell's  rubber  boots,  lined  with  cloth,  and  with  silk  ex- 
tensions above  the  knees,  are  the  most  perfect  articles  of  the 
rubber  kind. 


AMERICAN  GAME-LAWS. 


AaiERICAN  LAWS   FOR  THE   PROTECTION   OF   FISH,  GAME,  AND 
INSECTIVOROUS   BIRDS. 

The  leading  features  of  these  laws  are  included  in  those 
for  the  State  of  New  York  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and 
I  therefore  give  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  remaining  part 
of  North  America,  as  the  laws  for  regulating  the  protection 
and  capture  of  game  and  fresh-water  fishes  should  be  similar 
throughout  the  United  States  and  their  borders. 

GAME-LAWS    OF   THE    STATE    OF   NEW   YORK. 

An  Act  to  amend  and  consolidate  the  several  acts  relating  to  the  Preservation 
of  Moose,  Wild  Deer,  Birds,  and  Fresh-water  Fish,  passed  May  13, 1867. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and  Assembly, 
do  enact  as  follows : 

MOOSE    AND   DEER. 

Sec.  1.  No  person  shall  kill,  or  pursue  with  intent  to  kill,  any  moose  or 
wild  deer  save  only  during  the  months  of  August,  September,  October,  No- 


4:68  Appekdix. 

vember,  and  up  to  and  inclusive  of  the  10th  day  of  December,  or  shall  expose 
for  sale,  or  have  in  his  or  her  possession,  any  green  moose  or  deer  skin,  or 
fresh  venison,  save  only  in  the  months  aforesaid,  and  up  to  and  inclusive  of 
the  10th  of  December. 

WILD   FAWN   AND   GRAY   RABBITS. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  shall  at  any  time  kill  any  wild  fawn  during  the  periods 
when  such  fawn  is  in  its  spotted  coat,  or  expose  for  sale,  or  have  at  any  time 
in  his  or  her  possession,  any  spotted  wild  fawn  skin,  or  any  gray  rabbit,  from 
the  1st  of  February  to  the  1st  of  November. 

WILD   PIGEONS. 

Sec.  3.  No  person  shall  kill,  or  catch,  or  discharge  any  fire-arm  at  any  wild 
pigeon  while  in  any  nesting-ground,  or  break  up  or  in  any  manner  disturb 
such  nesting-ground,  or  the  nests  or  birds  therein,  or  discharge  any  6re-arm 
at  any  distance  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  such  nesting-place  at  such  pigeon. 

WILD-FOWL. 

Sec.  4.  No  person  shall  kill,  or  expose  for  sale,  or  have  in  his  possession 
after  the  same  is  killed,  any  wood  duck  (commonly  called  black  duck),  gray 
duck  (commonly  called  summer  duck),  mallard,  or  teal  duck,  between  the  1st 
day  of  February  and  the  15th  day  of  August  in  each  year.  No  person  shall 
at  any  time  kill  any  wild  duck,  goose,  or  other  wild-fowl,  with  or  by  means  of 
the  device  or  instrument  known  as  swivel  or  punt  gun,  or  with  or  by  means 
of  any  gun  other  than  such  guns  as  are  habitually  raised  at  arm's  length  and 
fired  from  the  shoulder,  or  shall  use  any  such  device,  or  instrument,  or  gun 
other  than  such  gun  as  aforesaid,  with  intent  to  kill  any  such  duck,  goose,  or 
other  wild-fowl.  No  person  shall  in  any  manner  kill,  or  molest  with  intent 
to  kill,  any  wild  ducks,  geese,  or  other  Avild-fowl,  while  the  same  are  sitting 
at  night  upon  their  resting-places.  But  this  section  shall  not  apply  to  waters 
of  Long  Island  Sound  or  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

PENALTY   FOR   VIOLATION. 

Sec.  5.  Any  person  violating  the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  likewise  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of 
fifty  dollars  for  each  offense. 

INSECTIVOROUS  BIRDS. 

Sec.  6.  No  person  shall  at  any  time,  within  this  state,  kill,  or  trap,  or  ex- 
pose for  sale,  or  have  in  his  possession  after  the  same  is  killed,  any  eagle,  fish- 
hawk,  night  -  hawk,  whippoorwill,  finch,  thrush,  lark,  sparrow,  yellow- bird, 
brown  thresher,  wren,  martin,  swallow,  tonager,  oriole,  woodpecker,  bobolink, 
or  any  other  harmless  bird,  or  any  song-bird ;  or  kill,  trap,  or  expose  for  sale 
any  robin,  blackbird,  meadow-lark,  or  starling,  save  during  the  months  of  Au- 
gust, September,  October,  November,  and  December ;  nor  destroy  or  rob  the 
nests  of  any  wild  birds  whatever,  under  a  penalty  of  five  dollars  for  each  bird 
so  killed,  trapped,  or  exposed  for  sale,  and  for  each  nest  destroyed  or  robbed. 


Appendix.  469 

This  section  shall  not  apply  to  any  person  who  shall  kill  or  trap  any  bird  for 
the  purpose  of  studying  its  habits  or  history,  or  having  the  same  stuffed  and 
set  up  as  a  specimen ;  nor  to  any  person  who  shall  kill  on  his  own  premises 
any  robin  during  the  period  when  summer  fruits  or  grapes  are  ripening,  pro- 
vided such  robin  is  killed  in  the  act  of  destroying  such  fruits  or  grapes. 

PINNATED   GROUSE. 

Sec.  7.  No  person  shall,  at  any  time  within  ten  years  from  the  passage  of 
this  act,  kill  any  pinnated  grouse,  commonly  called  the  prairie-fowl,  unless 
upon  grounds  owned  by  them,  and  grouse  placed  thereon  by  said  owners,  un- 
der a  penalty  of  ten  dollars  for  each  bird  so  killed. 

WOODCOCK,  RUFFED   GROUSE,  QUAIL,  RAIL,  AND   PARTRIDGE. 

Sec.  8.  No  person  shall  kill,  or  have  in  his  or  her  possession,  except  alive, 
for  the  pui-pose  of  preserving  the  same  alive  through  the  \Ndnter,  or  expose  for 
sale  any  Avoodcock  or  ruffed  grouse,  commonly  called  partridge,  between  the 
1st  day  of  January  and  the  1st  day  of  September,  or  kill  any  quail,  sometimes 
called  Virginia  partridge,  between  the  1  st  day  of  January  and  the  20th  day 
of  October,  or  have  the  same  in  possession,  or  expose  the  same  for  sale  be- 
tween the  1  St  day  of  February  and  the  20th  day  of  October,  or  have  in  his 
possession  any  pinnated  grouse,  commonly  called  prairie-chicken,  or  expose 
the  same  for  sale  between  the  1st  day  of  February  and  the  1st  day  of  July, 
under  a  penalty  of  five  dollars  for  each  bird  so  killed,  or  had  in  possession,  or 
exposed  for  sale.  Provided,  however,  that  in  the  counties  lying  along  the 
Hudson  River,  and  Susquehanna  River  and  its  branches,  and  in  the  counties 
lying  south  of  the  north  line  of  the  county  of  Greene,  and  the  county  of  Co- 
lumbia, and  in  the  counties  bordering  upon  the  waters  where  the  tide  ebbs 
and  flows,  it  shall  be  lawful  to  kill,  or  possess,  or  expose  for  sale  any  wood- 
cock, or  rail,  or  ruffed  grouse,  commonly  called  partridge,  between  the  3d  day 
of  July  and  the  1st  day  of  January. 

TRAPPING   PROHIBITED. 

Sec.  9.  No  person  shall,  at  any  time,  or  in  any  place  within  this  state,  with 
any  ti-ap  or  snare,  take  any  quail  or  ruffed  grouse,  under  a  penalty  of  five  dol- 
lars for  each  quail  or  grouse  so  trapped  or  snared. 

VIOLATING   THE   SABBATH. 

Sec.  10.  There  shall  be  no  shooting,  hunting,  or  trapping  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  called  Sunday,  and  any  person  offending  against  the  provisions 
of  this  section  shall,  on  conviction,  forfeit  and  pay  a  sum  not  exceeding  twen- 
ty-five dollars,  or  be  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  of  the  county  where  the 
offense  was  committed  not  less  than  ten  days  nor  more  than  twenty-five  days 
for  each  offense. 

TRESPASS. 

Sec.  1 1 .  Any  person  who  shall  at  any  time  enter  upon  the  lawn,  garden, 
orchard,  or  pleasure-grounds  immediately  surrounding  a  dwelling-house,  with 


470  Appendix. 

any  fire-arm,  for  the  purpose  of  shooting,  contrary  to  the  pro\-isions  of  this 
act,  or  shall  shoot  at  any  bird  or  animal  thereon,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of 
trespass,  and,  in  addition  to  the  damages,  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  ten 
dollars. 

POISONING   FRESH-WATER   STREAMS. 

Sec.  12.  No  person  shall  place  in  any  fresh-water  stream,  lake,  or  pond, 
mthout  the  consent  of  the  owner,  any  lime  or  other  deleterious  substance, 
with  intent  to  injure  fish ;  nor  any  drug  or  medicated  bait,  with  intent  there- 
by to  poison  or  catch  fish  ;  nor  place  in  any  pond  or  lake  stocked  with  or  in- 
habited by  trout,  black  bass,  pike,  pickerel,  or  sunfish,  any  drug  or  other  dele- 
terious substance,  with  intent  to  destroy  such  trout  or  other  fish.  Any  per- 
son violating  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  shall,  in  addition  thereto,  and  in  addition  to  any  damage  he  may 
have  done,  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  one  hundred  dollars. 

BUILDING  AND   MAINTAINING  DAMS. 

Sec.  13.  Every  person  building  or  maintaining  a  dam  upon  the  rivers  emp- 
tying into  Lake  Ontario,  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  or  Lake  Champlain,  which 
dam  is  higher  than  two  feet,  shall  likewise  build  and  maintain,  during  the 
months  of  March,  April,  May,  September,  October,  and  November,  for  the 
pui-pose  of  the  passage  of  fish,  a  sluice-way  in  the  mid-channel  at  least  one 
foot  in  depth  at  the  edge  of  the  dam,  and  of  proper  width,  and  placed  at  an 
angle  of  not  more  than  thirty  degrees,  and  extending*  entirely  to  the  running 
water  below  the  dam,  which  sluice-way  shall  be  protected  on  each  side  by  an 
apron  at  least  one  foot  in  height,  to  confine  the  water  therein. 

speckled  brook  trout. 
Sec.  14.  No  person  shall  at  any  time,  with  intent  so  to  do,  catch  any  speck- 
led brook  trout  or  speckled  river,  trout  with  any  device  save  only  with  a  hook 
and  line ;  and  no  person  shall  catch  any  such  trout,  or  have  any  such  trout  in 
his  or  her  possession,  save  only  during  the  months  of  April,  May,  June,  July, 
August,  and  September,  under  a  penalty  of  five  dollars  for  each  trout  so  caught 
or  had  in  his  possession  j  but  this  section  shall  not  prevent  any  person  or  cor- 
poration from  catching  trout  in  waters  owned  by  them  to  stock  other  waters 
belonging  to  them.  But  the  counties  of  Kings,  Queens,  and  Suffolk  shall  be 
exempted  from  the  provisions  of  the  above  section  so  far  as  to  allow  the  tak- 
ing or  catching  of  trout  in  the  counties  last  named  during  the  month  of  March. 

salmon-trout. 
Sec.  15.  No  person  shall  take  or  have  in  possession  any  salmon-trout  be- 
tween the  loth  day  of  October  and  the  1st  day  of  Febraary  in  each  year,  un- 
der a  penalty  of  five  dollars  for  each  fish  so  taken  and  had  in  possession.    But 
this  section  shall  not  apply  to  the  waters  of  Otsego  Lake. 

black   BASS   OR   MASKALONGE. 

Sec.  1 6.  No  person  shall  take  or  have  in  possession  any  black  bass  or  mas- 


Appendix.  471 

kalonge  between  the  1st  day  of  January  and  the  1st  day  of  May,  under  a  pen- 
alty of  five  dollars  for  each  fish  so  taken  or  had  in  possession. 

NETS,  TRAPS,  ETC. 

Sec.  17.  No  person  shall  at  any  time  take  any  fish  with  a  net,  spear,  or 
trap  of  any  kind,  or  set  any  trap,  net,  weir,  or  pot,  with  intent  to  catch  fish,  in 
any  of  the  fresh  waters  of  this  state,  except  as  hereinafter  provided  ;  and  any 
})erson  violating  the  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor, and  shall  likewise  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  twenty-five  dollars  for 
each  offense ;  but  suckers,  catfish,  eels,  whitefish,  shad,  and  minnows  are  ex- 
empted from  the  operation  of  this  section ;  Provided,  however,  That  nothing 
in  this  section  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  legalize  the  use  of  gill-nets  in  any 
of  the  fresh  waters  of  this  state.  But  in  the  waters  of  Otsego  Lake,  seines 
may  be  used  from  the  first  day  of  March  to  the  last  day  of  August,  and  gill- 
nets  may  be  used  during  the  months  of  July  and  August ;  but  no  such  seine 
or  net  shall  have  meshes  less  than  one  inch  and  three  quarters  in  size. 

VIOLATION. 

Sec.  18.  No  person  shall  sell,  expose  for  sale  or  purchase,  or  have  in  his  or 
her  possession,  any  fish  taken  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  under  a 
penalty  of  five  dollars  for  each  fish  so  sold,  exposed  for  sale,  purchased,  or  had 
in  possession,  with  intent  to  violate  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

TRESPASSING. 

Sec.  19.  Any  person  trespassing  on  any  lands  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
fish  from  any  private  pond,  stream,  or  spring,  after  pubUc  notice  on  the  part 
of  the  owner  or  occupant  thereof,  or  of  said  lands,  not  to  so  trespass,  shall  be 
deemed  guilty  of  trespass,  and  in  addition  to  any  damages  recoverable  by 
law,  shall  be  liable  to  the  owner,  lessee,  or  occupant  in  a  penalty  of  twenty- 
five  dollars  for  each  offense. 

HOW  PENALTIES  ARE  RECOVERED. 

Sec.  20.  All  penalties  imposed  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  may  be  re- 
covered, with  cost  of  suit,  by  any  person  or  persons  in  his  or  their  own  names, 
before  any  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  county  where  the  offense  was  commit- 
ted or  where  the  defendant  resides ;  or  when  such  suit  shall  be  brought  in  the 
City  of  New  York,  before  any  justice  of  any  of  the  District  Courts  or  of  the 
Marine  Court  of  said  city ;  or  such  penalties  may  be  recovered  in  an  action 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state,  by  any  person  or  persons,  in  his  or  their 
own  names ;  which  action  shall  be  governed  by  the  same  rules  as  other  ac- 
tions in  said  Supreme  Court,  except  that  in  a  recovery  by  the  plaintiff"  or  plain- 
tiff's in  such  suit  in  said  court,  costs  shall  be  allowed  to  such  plaintiff"  or  plain- 
tiff's, without  regard  to  the  amount  of  such  recovery;  and  any  District  Court 
judge,  justice  of  the  peace,  police,  or  other  magistrate,  is  authorized,  upon 
receiving  sufficient  security  for  costs  on  the  part  of  the  complainant,  and  suffi- 
cient proof  by  affidavit  of  the  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  act,  by  any 
person  being  temporarily  within  his  jurisdiction,  but  not  residing  therein,  or 


472  Appendix. 

by  any  person  whose  name  and  residence  are  unknown,  to  issue  his  warrant, 
and  have  such  oflPender  committed  or  held  to  bail  to  answer  the  charge  against 
him ;  and  any  District  Court  judge,  justice  of  the  peace,  poUce,  or  other  mag- 
istrate, may,  upon  proof  of  probable  cause  to  believe  in  the  concealment  of 
any  game  or  fish  mentioned  in  this  act,  during  any  of  the  prohibited  periods, 
issue  his  search  warrant  and  cause  search  to  be  made  in  any  house,  market- 
boat,  car,  or  other  building,  and  for  that  end  may  cause  any  apartment,  chest, 
box,  locker,  or  crate  to  be  broken  open  and  the  contents  examined.  Any 
penalties,  when  collected,  shall  be  paid  by  the  court  before  which  conviction 
shall  be  had,  one  half  to  the  overseers  of  the  poor,  for  the  use  of  the  poor  of 
the  town  in  which  conviction  is  had,  and  the  remainder  to  the  prosecutor. 
On  the  non-payment  of  the  penalty,  the  defendant  shall  be  committed  to  the 
common  jail  of  the  county  for  a  period  of  not  less  than  five  days,  and  at  the 
rate  of  one  day  for  each  dollar  of  the  amount  of  the  judgment,  where  the  sum 
is  over  five  dollars  in  amount.  Any  court  of  special  sessions  in  this  state 
shall  have  jurisdiction  to  try  and  dispose  of  all  and  any  of  the  off'enses  arising 
in  the  same  county  against  the  provisions  ot  this  act ;  and  every  justice  of  the 
peace  shall  have  jurisdiction  within  his  county  of  actions  to  recover  any  pen- 
alty hereby  given  or  created. 

POSSESSION   OP   GAME   PRIOR  TO   PROHIBITED   PERIOD. 

Sec.  21.  Any  person  proving  that  the  birds,  fish,  skins,  or  animals  found 
in  his  or  her  possession  during  the  prohibited  periods  were  killed  prior  to 
such  periods,  or  were  killed  in  any  place  outside  of  the  limits  of  this  state, 
and  that  the  law  of  such  place  did  not  prohibit  such  killing,  shall  he  exempt- 
ed from  the  penalties  of  this  act. 

COMMON   carriers    AND   EXPRESS   COMPANIES. 

Sec.  22.  In  all  prosecutions  under  this  act,  it  shall  be  competent  for  com- 
mon carriers  or  express  companies  to  show  that  the  inhibited  article  in  his  or 
their  possession  came  into  such  possession  in  another  state,  in  which  state  the 
law  did  not  prohibit  such  possession,  and  such  showing  shall  be  deemed  a  de- 
fense in  such  prosecution.  No  action  for  a  penalty  under  the  provisions  of 
this  act  shall  be  settled  or  compromised,  except  upon  the  payment  into  court 
of  the  full  amount  of  such  penalty,  unless  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as 
may  be  imposed  by  the  district  attorney  of  the  county  in  which  such  action 
shall  have  been  brought.  .  . 

LAKE   ONTARIO. 

Sec.  23.  Nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  apply  to  fish  caught  or  to  the 
taking  of  fish  in  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario,  or  any  of  its  bays  or  estuaries 
within  the  counties  of  Oswego,  Jefferson,  and  St.  Lawrence,  nor  to  the  catch- 
ing of  fish  in  any  way  in  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 

ONEIDA   LAKE. 

Sec.  24,  The  provisions  of  this  act  shall  not  be  deemed  to  apply  to  or  af- 
fect the  taking  offish  in  Oneida  Lake,  at  a  distance  of  one  mile  beyond  the 
shores  thereof. 


App:gNDix.  473 


KENNTETTO   CREEK  AND   SACANDAGA  VLAIE. 

Sec.  25.  It  shall  be  unlawful  to  use  or  draw,  for  the  taking  offish  of  any  kind 
whatever,  any  seine  or  net  in  Kennyetto  or  Fondasbush  Creek,  in  the  county 
of  Fulton,  or  in  the  Sacandaga  Vlaie,  or  in  any  part  thereof  in  said  county, 
above  the  covered  bridge,  near  the  village  of  Fish  House,  commonly  known  as 
the  "Vlaie  Creek  Bridge,"  or  in  any  of  the  streams  emptying  into  the  said 
Vlaie. 

VIOLATING  THE   PROVISIONS   OP  THE  PRECEDING  SECTION. 

Sec.  26.  Any  person  violating  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  section  shall, 
upon  conviction  thereof,  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  also  liable 
to  a  penalty  of  twenty-five  dollars,  which  may  be  recovered  in  the  manner 
prescribed  in  section  twenty  of  said  chapter  eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight, 
hereby  amended. 

REPEAL   OF   PREVIOUS   ACTS. 

Sec.  27.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this 
act  are  hereby  repealed,  except  chapter  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  of 
laws  of  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-one,  which  is  hereby  continued  in  full 
force  and  effect. 

Sec.  28.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

Passed  May  9, 18G8. 

State  of  New  York,  \ 

Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  ]"  ** '' 

I  have  compared  the  preceding  with  the  original  law  on  file  in  this  office, 
and  do  hereby  certify  that  the  same  is  a  correct  transcript  therefrom  and  of 
the  whole  of  said  original  law.        Homer  A.  Nelson,  Secretary  of  State. 

The  following  is  the  act  of  1861,  referred  to  in  section  27  : 

An  act  for  the  Preservation  of  Fish  in  Canandaigva  Lake  and  the  outlet  there- 
of lying  in  the  Counties  of  Ontario  and  Yates. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and  Assembly, 
do  enact  as  follows :  * 

Sec.  1.  It  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  person  or  persons  to  take,  catch,  or 
procure,  in  or  from  Canandaigua  Lake,  or  the  inlet  thereof,  lying  within  the 
Counties  of  Ontario  and  Yates,  any  fish,  with  or  by  means  of  any  seine,  gill- 
net,  or  other  net. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  shall  knowingly  sell,  or  offer  for  sale,  any  fish  caught  in 
or  from  said  lake,  or  inlet  thereof,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  first  sec- 
tion of  this  act,  and  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  knowingly  to  purchase 
any  fish  so  taken  in  or  from  said  lake  or  inlet. 

Sec.  3.  Wlioever  shall  violate  any  or  either  of  the  provisions  of  this  act 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  also  be  subject  to  a  pen- 
alty for  each  offense  of  not  less  than  ten  nor  more  than  twenty-five  dollars, 
to  be  recovered  in  a  civil  action,  with  costs,  as  hereinafter  provided. 


474:  Appendix. 

Sec.  4.  Any  person  may  bring  or  prosecute  an  action  in  his  own  name  for 
the  recovery  of  the  fines  or  penalties  imposed  by  this  act,  before  any  justice 
of  the  peace  of  either  of  said  counties,  upon  first  giving  to  such  justice  of  the 
peace  security  for  costs,  satisfaotory  to  such  justice,  in  case  he  shall  fail  to 
recover ;  and  in  case  of  a  recovery,  the  amount  thereof,  when  collected,  shall 
be  paid  to  the  court  before  which  such  an  action  shall  be  prosecuted,  together 
with  costs  of  such  suit.  The  court  before  which  such  action  shall  be  brought 
shall  certify  the  reasonable  costs  and  expenses  thereof,  and  pay  the  same  out 
of  the  moneys  so  received,  and  shall  pay  the  residue  thereof,  if  any,  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  county  in  which  such  action  is  brought,  for  the  support  of  the 
poor  of  said  county. 

Sec.  5.  All  laws  inconsistent  with  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  6.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

Passed  April  12,  1861. 

THE   GAME  AND  EISHERY  LAWS   OP  THE    DOMINION   OF  CANADA 

POK   EIGHTEEN  HUNDEED   AND   SIXTY-NINE. 

(By  Edwaed  C,  Bakbeb,  Esq.,  Ottawa,  Author  of  "The  Crack  Shot,"  etc.,  etc.) 

ONXARIO   AND   QUEBEC.  • 

Since  the  last  issue  of  the  Year-Book,  very  considerable  changes  have  been 
made  in  the  game-laws  of  the  Provinces  of  Ontario  and  Quebec.  The  fish- 
ery-laws of  the  Dominion  have  also  been  revised  to  some  extent,  and  it  is  now 
believed  that  if  sportsmen  will  respect  the  provisions  of  the  acts,  and  aid  in 
enforcing  the  penalty  against  the  poacher  for  infractions  thereof,  game  and 
fish  will  again  become  plentiful. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  Legislatures  of  the  different  provinces 
have  not  provided  the  means  for  carrying  out  their  various  enactments  on  the 
subject  of  the  protection  of  game,  and  herein  is  felt  the  inconvenience  of  these 
matters  being  dealt  with  in  detail  by  the  various  pro\dnces  instead  of  by  the 
Dominion.  Had  the  Dominion  Legislature  been  vested  with  the  power  of 
legislating  upon  the  subject  of  game  as  well  as  upon  the  fisheries,  the  fishery 
overseers  might  have  been  made  efficient  aids  to  the  different  game-clubs 
throughout  the  country.  To  those  of  Quebec  and  Montreal  much  praise  is 
due  for  their  efforts  to  protect  game ;  but  it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  indi- 
vidual effort  can  stay  the  devastating  hand  of  the  pot-hunter.  Much  good 
would  be  accomplished  if  the  municipalities  could  be  induced  to  afford  their 
aid. 

In  Ontario,  the  close  season  for  deer  or  fawn,  elk,  moose  or  cariboo,  extends 
from  the  1  st  of  December  to  the  succeeding  1  st  of  September,  not  to  be  trap- 
ped ;  the  close  season  for  wild  turkey,  grouse,  pheasant,  and  partridge  is  be- 
tween the  1st  of  January  and  the  1  st  of  September ;  for  quail  between  the  1  st 
of  January  and  the  1st  of  October ;  and  for  woodcock  and  snipe  from  the  1  st 
of  March  to  the  1 2th  of  August ;  and  no  wild  swan,  goose,  or  any  description 
of  duck  is  allowed  to  be  killed  between  the  15th  day  of  April  and  the  10th 
day  of  August ;  neither  is  it  to  be  trapped,  or  taken  by  means  of  traps,  snares, 
or  springs,  or  killed  by  any  other  method  than  by  shooting.     It  is  also  un- 


Appendix.  475 

lawful  to  use  sunken  punts  or  batteries,  or  night  lights.^  No  eggs  of  any  kind 
of  the  birds  above  enumerated  are  allowed  to  be  taken  or  destroyed  at  any  time. 
No  beaver,  muskrat,  mink,  sable,  otter  or  fisher,  is  to  be  taken  or  trapped  be- 
tween the  1  St  of  May  and  the  15th  of  November.*  There  is  also  a  clause  pro- 
tecting any  particular  kind  of  game  that  may  be  imported  by  parties  desirous 
of  breeding  the  same.  The  fine  varies  from  $2  to  $25  for  each  head  of  game 
illegally  killed,  and  in  default  of  payment  offenders  are  imprisoned  in  a  com- 
mon jail  for  a  term  not  exceeding  thirty  days. 

Speckled  trout  can  be  taken  between  the  1st  of  January  and  the  1st  of  Oc- 
tober, but  only  by  angling  by  hand  with  hook  and  line.  Whitefish  or  salmon- 
trout  are  not  to  be  taken  by  any  means  between  the  19th  of  November  and 
the  1st  of  December,  nor  by  means  of  any  kind  of  seine  between  the  30th  of 
May  and  the  1  st  of  August.  The  close  seasons  for  bass,  pickerel,  maskinonge, 
and  other  fish  are  to  be  fixed  by  the  governor  in  Council,  to  suit  different  lo- 
calities. 

In  Quebec,  the  close  season  for  elk,  moose,  cariboo,  deer,  fawn,  or  hare,  is 
from  the  1  st  of  February  to  the  1st  of  September ;  for  grouse,  ptarmigan,  part- 
ridge, woodcock,  or  snipe,  between  the  1st  of  March  and  the  1st  of  September. 
No  wild  swan,  wild  goose,  or  any  kind  of  wild  duck  is  allowed  to  be  shot  at, 
trapped,  or  killed  between  the  20th  of  May  and  the  1st  of  September,  except 
in  that  part  of  the  proWnce  east  of  the  Brandy  Pots,  where  the  inhabitants 
are  allowed,  for  food  only,  to  kill  the  same  between  the  1st  of  September  and 
the  1st  of  June.  Neither  is  it  lawful  to  kill  any  of  the  above  between  sunset 
and  sunrise.  All  the  game  animals  and  birds  mentioned  in  the  act  except 
hares  and  partridges  are  protected  from  trapping.  No  eggs  of  any  of  the 
kinds  of  birds  mentioned,  or  any  species  of  wild-fowl,  are  allowed  to  be  dis- 
turbed, injured,  or  taken. 

No  lynx,  wild  cat,  mink,  or  marten  to  be  taken  or  killed  between  the  15th 
of  April  and  the  1st  of  November ;  no  otter  between  the  1st  of  May  and  the 
1st  of  November ;  no  beaver  between  the  30th  of  April  and  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember ;  no  muskrat  between  the  1st  of  June  and  the  2rst  of  October.  Nor 
shall  any  person  buy,  sell,  or  have  in  his  or  her  possession  any  unseasonable 
skin  of  any  of  the  said  animals. 

Fines  vary  from  $1  to  $50,  and  in  default  of  immediate  pajrment  the  penal- 
ty is  imprisonment  in  the  common  jail  for  a  term  not  exceeding  three  months. 
No  proceeding  under  this  act  can  be  set  aside  by  certiorari,  an  appeal  only 
lying  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  chief  place  of  the  district  wherein  the  offense 
was  committed.  The  jurisdiction  is  very  summary,  and  the  general  provis- 
ions very  stringent.  No  kind  of  trout  (or  lunge)  can  be  taken  between  the 
1  st  of  October  and  the  1  st  of  January ;  whitefish  and  salmon-trout  are  not 
to  be  taken  in  any  way  between  the  1 9th  of  November  and  the  1  st  of  Decem- 
ber, nor  by  means  of  any  kind  of  seine  between  the  31st  of  July  and  the  1st 
of  December;  between  the  31st  of  October  and  the  31st  of  December  it  is 
unlawful  to  kill  shad  or  whitefish  in  Missisquoi  Bay,  Lake  Champlain  ;  sal- 
mon can  not  be  fished  for  in  Ontario  and  Quebec,  or  the  River  Restigouche 
(N.  B.),  between  the  31st  of  July  and  the  1st  of  May,  except  by  fly  surface- 
*  The  close  seasou  for  hare  is  from  the  1st  of  March  to  the  let  of  September. 


476  Appendix. 

fishing,  which  extends  in  Ontario  and  Quebec  from  the  30th  of  April  to  the 
31st  of  August. 

It  is  believed  that  much  good  has  already  been  accomplished  by  the  recent 
act  for  the  protection  of  insectivorous  birds.  By  its  provisions  it  is  made  un- 
lawful to  kill  or  snare,  between  the  1st  of  March  and  the  1st  of  August,  any 
kind  of  bird  whatsoever  except  eagles,  falcons,  hawks,  Avild  pigeons,  kingfish- 
ers, crows,  and  ravens.     This  act  applies  to  both  Ontario  and  Quebec. 

NEW   BRUNSWICK. 

The  law  in  this  province  is  very  strict  as  regards  moose,  the  only  galne-laws 
of  the  province  being  those  relating  to  the  protection  of  moose  and  partridge. 
The  close  season  only  extends  from  the  1st  of  February  to  the  1st  of  May: 
fine  $40 ;  and  any  one  is  empowered  to  kill  any  dog  found  hunting  within 
the  prohibited  time.  No  one  is  allowed  to  kill  more  than  two  moose  within 
a  period  of  twelve  months :  $12  for  each  oflTense.  The  killing,  except  for 
food,  is  prohibited ;  and  leaving  the  carcass  in  the  woods  subjects  the  offend- 
er to  a  fine  of  $20.  Partridges  are  not  to  be  killed  between  the  1  st  of  March 
and  the  I  st  of  September.  There  was  an  act  making  it  unlawful  to  kill  deer 
on  the  island  of  Grand  Menan  for  a  period  of  three  years,  but  it  expired  June 
8,  1 8G8.  The  fishery  regulations  are  the  same  as  those  of  Quebec  and  Onta- 
rio, except  that  the  close  season  for  salmon  is,  for  net-fishing,  from  the  15th 
of  August  to  the  1st  of  March,  and  fly  surface-fishing  from  the  15th  of  Sep- 
tember to  the  1st  of  March. 

NOVA   SCOTIA. 

Chapter  92  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  Nova  Scotia  has  also  been  amended, 
and  now  reads  that  no  moose  shall  be  killed  between  the  1  st  of  January  and 
the  1st  of  September ;  no  cariboo  between  the  1st  of  March  and  the  1st  of  Sep- 
tember. The  close  time  for  partridge  is  from  the  1st  of  January  to  the  1st  of 
September ;  and  for  woodcock  and  snipe,  from  the  1st  of  March  to  the  1st  of 
September.  The  pVohibitions  respecting  the  killing  of  cow  moose,  and  the 
limitation  of  the  number  allowed  to  be  killed,  have  been  removed.  Pheasants 
are  not  allowed  to  be  killed.  The  export  of  moose  and  cariboo  hides  is  pro- 
hibited :  fine  from  $20  to  $50,  and  forfeiture  of  the  game  or  hides.  Otters, 
minks,  and  muskrats  are  not  allowed  to  be  killed  between  the  1st  of  May  and 
the  1  st  of  November,  under  a  penalty  of  $8.  It  is  absolutely  forbidden  to  kill 
robins,  swallows,  sparrows,  etc.,  and  birds  of  song.  Penalty  $1  for  each  bird 
so  killed. 

The  anomaly  of  the  game-laws  being  dealt  with  by  the  various  provinces 
in  detail  is  strikingly  apparent  when  the  close  seasons  are  considered,  e.  y.  : 
In  Ontario  the  legal  time  for  killing  deer  ends  on  the  1st  of  December;  but 
in  Quebec  it  is  lawful  to  kill  until  the  1st  of  February.  The  same  with  re- 
gard to  ducks :  In  Ontario  the  sportsman  is  debarred  from  knocking  them 
over  after  the  1st  of  March,  but  his  Quebec  brother  can  pop  away  at  them 
until  the  20th  of  May ;  and  so  in  other  instances.  This  causes,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  cause,  a  gi-eat  deal  of  trouble  to  secure  convictions  against  parties  for 
illegally  killing  game.     These  provinces  being  only  separated  by  the  River 


Appendix. 


47' 


Ottawa  makes  it  difficult  to  establish  the  fact  of  the  illegal  killing.  Would 
it  not  be  well  to  have  a  convention  of  sportsmen  agree  on  close  seasons  that 
would  answer  for  all  the  provinces,  and  press  the  adoption  of  them  in  their 
respective  Legislatures  ?  Of  course  there  are  difficulties  in  the  way,  but  these 
could  easily  be  got  over  if  sportsmen  would  only  approach  them  in  a  candid 
and  conciliatory  spirit. 

PRINCE   EDWARD   ISLAND. 

The  game-laws  of  Prince  Edward  Island  prohibit  the  killing  of  partridges 
between  the  1st  of  March  and  the  1st  of  October,  and  sabnon  in  the  fall. 

NEWFOUNDLAND. 

There  is  only  one  game-law  in  this  island,  entitled  "An  act  for  the  Protec- 
tion and  Breeding  of  Wild-fowl  and  Game. "  It  prohibits  the  killing,  taking, 
purchasing,  selling,  or  possessing  of  partridges  from  the  20th  of  February  to 
the  25th  of  August,  and  applies  a  similar  prohibition  in  the  case  of  snipe,  or 
any  other  wild  or  migratory  birds  frequenting  for  the  "purpose  of  incubation 
(except  wild  geese),  from  the  1st  of  April  to  the  20th  of  August. 

BRITISH   COLUMBIA. 

It  is  unlawful  to  buy,  or  sell,  or  exhibit  for  sale,  any  deer  or  elk  between  the 
1st  of  March  and  the  1st  of  August ;  or  any  grouse,  prairie-fowl,  or  partridge, 
or  to  destroy  or  collect  their  eggs,  between  the  1st  of  March  and  the  10th  of 
August.     Fine  $50,  or  three  months'  imprisonment. 


4o78  Appendix. 


A  WORD  IK  CONCLUSIOK 

And  now,  brethren  of  the  angle — students  in  fish-culture — 
men  anxious  to  develop  American  fisheries  and  establish  ef- 
fective game-laws — farewell.  If  true  anglers,  you  are  sure  to 
be  gentle ;  and  as  the  truly  gentle  are  always  virtuous,  you 
must  be  happy.     But  the  best  friends  must  part. 

I  have  endeavored  to  throw  together  some  pleas  in  favor 
of  the  "gentle  craft,"  and  to  hint  at  the  importance  of  water- 
farming.  If  my  mite,  contributed  to  the  general  stock  for 
the  promotion  of  rational  enjoyment  and  useful  occuj^ation, 
shall  be  found  worthy  of  those  readers  whom  it  is  my  pleas- 
ure to  honor,  it  will  be  a  source  of  gratification  to  know  that 
my  labors  have  not  been  in  vain. 

Let  neither  prosperity  nor  adversity  deaden  "the  fresh 
feeling  after  Nature"  which  the  use  of  the  rod  and  reel  al- 
ways heightens  or  confers.  Whether  overladen  with  good 
fortune  or  sufiering  under  the  shocks  of  adversity,  forget  not 
to  take  the  magic  wand  and  repair  to  the  murmuring  waters. 
"  The  music  of  those  gentle  moralists  will  steal  into  your 
heart ;"  and,  while  invigorating  physical  energy,  your  souls 
will  be  charmed,  and  your  minds  soothed  and  tempered  by 
the  music  of  birds,  the  sights  of  nature,  and  the  sounds  of  in- 
ferior animals  above,  around,  and  beneath  the  enlivening 
waters. 

With  rosy  dreams  and  bright  streams,  breezy  morns  and 
mellow  skies,  a  light  heart  and  a  clear  conscience,  may  "God 
speed  ye  well." 


INDEX 


Abrams,  Captain,  91. 
Acclimatizing  fishes,  440, 
Adirondack  boats,  162. 
Ainsworth's  race  and  screens,  397, 
Albicore  supposed  to  be  bonetta,  134. 
Alexander's    "Salmon    Fishing"    in 

Canada,  335. 
Amphion  and  the  dolphins,  38. 
Ancient  and  modem  fish-culture,  347. 
Anderson,  John,  Esq.,  75. 
Angel-fish  or  monk-fish,  433. 
Antiquity  of  the  "gentle  art,"  143. 
Apogon,  the  Mediterranean,  424. 
Ardent  angler,  the,  192. 
Austin,  George,  63. 
Australia,  the  salmon  experiment  in, 

369,  379. 
"Ave  Maria,"  Canadian  version,  218. 
Axillary  sea  bream,  425.  s 

Bait-box,  174. 

Bait-can  and  baits,  294. 

Bait-fishing  for  trout,  189. 

Baits,  36,  37,  67. 

Ballysadare  salmon-pass,  413. 

Bamboo  rod.  Dr.  Clerk's,  211. 

Banded  ephippus,  the,  425. 

Barbel,  the,  428. 

Barker  an  authority  on  angling,  179. 

Barren  Island,  fishing  at,  97. 

Basket,  trout,  174. 

Bass,  angling  for  striped,  48  ;  trolling' 
in  Hell  Gate  for,  52 ;  still-baiting 
for,  58 :  casting  bait  for,  64 ;  an-j 
gling  at  the  clubs,  69  ;  the  sea  bass, 
106  ;  the  black,  282  ;  the  Oswego,  | 
282 ;  the  black  of  the  South,  284 ; 
the  spotted,  or  speckled  hen,  285 ;  i 
the  rock  bass  of  the  Lakes,  285 ;  the 
striped  sea,  the  black  of  Lake  Hu- 
ron, and  the  black  sea,  424. 

"Bass  grounds,"  282. 

Bearded  umbrina,  425. 

Beardie  or  loach,  428. 

Bellows-fish,  111. 


Bergen  Point,  reef-fishing  on,  61. 

Berners  or  Barnes,  Dame  Juliana,  143. 

Bethune,  Kev.Dr.,  259,  275.     , 

Big  porgee,  the,  425.  • 

Black  bass  of  Lake  Huron,  424. 

Black  flies,  antidote  for,  207. 

Black  sea  iDass,  424. 

Bluefish,  the,  117. 

Bliieshark,  the,  432. 

Bonetta  or  bonito,  132. 

Borelli,  Professor,  45. 

Bory  St.  Vincent,  M.,  34. 

Bottom  fishing,  rig  for,  59. 

Brackett, Walter  M.,  146,  290. 

Bradley,  Professor,  38. 

Breeding  times  of  fishes,  406. 

Brook  trout,  146. 

Brown  catfish,  433. 

Brown's,  Dr.,  Angler's  Guide,  109. 

Buel  feathered  spoon,  285. 

Buel's  patent  feather  troll,  299. 

Bullfrog  and  horned  pout,  435. 

Camp  bed,  229. 

Canada,  hiring  rivers  in,  205  ;  salmon 

fishing  in,  206. 
Canadian  salmon-stairs,  416. 
Canandaigua    Lake,   trout    of,   263 ; 

black  bass  of,  282. 
Canarsie,  fishing  at,  90. 
Caplin,  the,  105. 
Carp  family,  the,  428. 
Carps  at  Rotterdam,  38. 
Casting  bait  for  bass,  64. 
Casting-lines,  straightening,  175. 
Castle  Council  rods,  212. 
Catfish  family,  the,  433. 
Caving  Channel,  fishing  at,  98. 
Cayuga   Lake,  trout   of,  263 ;    black 

bass  of,  282  ;  pike  of,  288. 
Cero,  cerus,  or  sierra,  134. 
Characterization  of  fishes,  17. 
Chars,  M.,  37. 

Chesapeake  Bay  fishery,  342. 
Children,  angling  for,  198. 


480 


Index. 


Chimaera  family,  the,  432. 

Chinese  fish-culture,  348. 

Chinese  fishing,  29. 

Chinese  hook,  22. 

Chowder  of  sea  bass  and  clams,  107. 

Churn-spoon,  67. 

Cisco  or  ciscoquette,  292. 

Clams,  trade  in,  340. 

Clergynfian's  contribution,  a,  1 89. 

Clerk  (A.)  and  Co.,  63, 179, 184,  211. 

Clubs,  bassing,  69. 

Coalfish,  430. 

Coast  and  estuary  fishes,  46. 

Coast  fishes  and  fisheries,  319. 

Codfish,  the,  328. 

Cod  family,  the,  430. 

Cod-hver  oil,  339. 

Colquhoun,  John,  on  moving  largefish, 
248. 

Commercial  values — Squeteague,  81  ; 
sea  bass,  108 ;  of  Lake  fisheries,  315 : 
of  mackerel,  323  ;  of  shad,  325  ;  of 
menhaden,  328  ;  of  salt-water  fish- 
eries, 339. 

Coney  Island,  fishing  at,  80. 

Connecticut  Kiver,  49. 

Cookery  for  sportsmen,  445 ;  general 
rules  for,  458. 

Coste,  M.,  French  commissioner,  40. 

Crooked  Lake,  fishes  in,  283. 

Cross-fishing  for  salmon,  302. 

Cruelty  of  fishes,  43. 

Current  wheel,  419. 

Cuttle-fish,  366. 

Dace  and  roach,  427. 

Daniell,  Rev.  W.  B.,  28,  36, 37. 

Dav3%  Sir  Humphiy,  28. 

De  Blainville,  M.,  40. 

Diploprion,  the  two-banded,  424. 

"Doctor,  the,"  fishing  with,  GO. 

Dogfish,  the  large-spotted,  the  small- 
spotted,  the  picked  (or  piked),  432. 

Dolphin  of  the  ancients,  426. 

Dressing  flies,  308. 

Dried  codfish,  339. 

Drops,  knots,  and  loops,  166. 

Dudong,  the,  25. 

Duhalde,  Father,  on  Chinese  fish-cul- 
ture, 347. 

Dumeril,  M.,  36. 

Eagle  or  whip  ray,  the,  433. 
Eastport  fishery,  statistics  of,  339. 
Eel,  the  common,  436. 


Egyptian  fishing,  1 9. 
Elizabeth  Islands,  77. 
Encampment  on  St.  John  River,  222. 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  extract  from, 

31. 
English  Neighborhood  bridge,  49. 
Enoplossus,  the  armed,  424. 
Estuary  catfish,  the,  439. 
Etelis,  the  ruby-colored,  424. 
Europe,  great  lake  trout  of,  429. 

Fecundated  spawn,  390. 

Fecundity  of  fishes,  41. 

Feeding,  times  for,  44. 

Feeding  young  trout  or  salmon,  392. 

"Field, "  the  London,  159. 

Findon  haddocks,  342. 

Finn,  Mr.,  Sa 

Fire  Island,  the  fishing  at,  94. 

Fish-culture,  ancient  and  modern,  347; 
in  Europe  in  early  times,  350 ;  of 
this  century,  355. 

Fish  propagation  assisted  by  art,  378. 

Flatfish  family,  the,  431 . 

Flies,  artificial,  30 ;  natural,  for  sal- 
mon and  trout,  31 ;  for  trout,  176  ; 
select  artificial,  for  trout,  1 84 ;  for 
salmon,  306  ;  fly-dressing,  308. 

Florida,  black  bass  in  rivers  of,  284. 

Flounder,  the,  116  ;  the  oblong,  431. 

Fly-fishing  for  trout,  1 54 ;  on  Massa- 
piqua  Lake,  162  ;  on  St.  John  Riv- 
er, 244. 

Flying-fish,  429. 

Fly-rods,  1 73 ;  modern  splice  for,  1 59. 

Francis  Francis  on  rods,  210  j  on  spin- 
ning baits,  301. 

French  commission  on  fish-culture, 
359. 

French  hatching-boxes,  382. 

Frog,  the  fishing,  42(j. 

Furman's  hatching-race,  401. 

Game  laws,  151,  467. 
Garfish,  common,  429. 
Gaspe,  horse  mackerel  in  Bay  of,  135. 
Gaylor,  Charles,  1 23. 
Ge'hin,  Antoine,  fish-culturist,  24,  356. 
Geneva  Lake,Wis.,  cisco  in,  293. 
Gibson,  Sandy,  guide  and  gafier,  56. 
Gillaroo  trout,  the,  256. 
Gillone's  (Mr.  J.)  process  of  propaga- 
tion, 388. 
Gilsten,  Mr.,123.       . 
Glass  or  wall-eyed  pike,  288. 


Index. 


481 


Gloves  for  trolling  with,  121. 

Golden  carp  or  goldfish,  428. 

Golden  mullet,  100. 

Grand  Lake,  trout  of,  258. 

Grayling,  the,  441. 

Greek  poem — the  Halieutics,  19. 

Green's  (Seth)  "general  directions," 

403. 
Greenwood  Lake,  pickerel  of,  2G7. 
Grilse,  salmon,  376. 
Growler,  the,  of  Virginia,  424. 
Grunter,  the,  1)9. 
Guiana  garfish,  429. 
Gurnard,  the  mailed,  425;  the  streaked 

or  rock,  425. 

Habits  of  fishes,  22. 

Hackett's  spinning  tackle,  296. 

Haddock,  the,  430. 

Hake,  the  great  forked,  430. 
•  Halibut  fishery,  statistics  of,  339. 

Halibut,  the,  431. 

Harlem  River,  fishing  in,  49. 

Haskell's  trolling  bait,  297. 

Hat  for  fishing,  208. 

Hatching  salmon,  382. 

Haunts  of  fishes,  44. 

Hell  Gate,  trolling  in,  52. 

Hibernating  black  bass,  282. 

Hogfish,  the,  98. 

Hooks — Theban,  Pompeiian,  Chinese, 
O'Shaughnessy,  Pennsylvanian,  22 ; 
for  bass,  55,  62 ;  for  sheepshead, 
87;  round-bend  fly,  185  ;  fish-hook 
philosophy,  185  ;  "  Salmoniceps's" 
opinions  on,  187;  fish-hooks,  304; 
mounting  salmon-hooks,  310. 

Horizontal  screen,  419. 

Homed  pout,  the,  433. 

Horse  mackerel,  135. 

Hue,  Chinese  missionary,  348. 

Huchen,  the,  441. 

Hughes,  Archbishop,  275. 

Hughes,  boat-builder,  56. 

Pluningue,  fish-culture  at,  362. 

Hunter,  Dr.,  39. 

Hutchinson's  Sproat-bend  hooks,  306. 

Ichthyology,  a  glimpse  of,  421. 
Inde,  the,  440. 
Intelligence  of  fishes,  18. 

Jamaica  Bay,  fishing  in,  94  ;  trolling 

in,  123 ;  Spanish  mackerel  in,  129. 
Jardine,  Sir  William,  42. 


Johnson's,  Dr.  Samuel,  plagiarism,  156. 
Johnson's,  of  Boston,  rods,  212. 
Jones,  William  Floyd,  163. 
Josh  BiUings,  lesson  by,  191. 

Kelly's,  Martin,  rods,  212. 
Kingfish,  the,  95. 
King's  Bridge,  fishing  at,  49. 
Knots,  loops,  and  drops,  166. 

Ladder,  fish,  407. 

Ladies,  fishing  for,  52. 

Lady,  catfish,  439. 

Lake  herring,  291.  / 

Lamprey,  the,  437. 

Landing  nets,  173. 

Leaping  of  trout,  anecdote  of,  417. 

Lebault,  M. ,  39. 

Lines,  64 ;  for  troUing,  121  ;  salmon 

casting,  212. 
Loach,  the,  or  beardie,  428. 
Long  Island  trout,  147. 
Long  Lake,  red  trout  of,  262. 
Loops,  knots,  and  drops,  166. 
Lycoming  Creek,  anglers  on,  1 93. 

M'Harg's  troll,  299. 

Mackerel,  the  Spanish,  1 26 ;  the  horse, 

135  ;  the  common,  319. 
Mackinaw  trout,  the,  264. 
Mailed  gurnard,  425. 
Malay  emblem  of  constancy,  25. 
Marshfield  trout,  147. 
Maskinonge,  the,  277,  441. 
Massapiqua  Lake,  fly-fishing  on,  162. 
Menhaden  or  mossbunker,  326. 
Mesoprion,  the  one-spotted,  424. 
Middle  Dam  camp,  181. 
Mirage  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  335. 
Mitchell,  Hon.  P.,  of  Ottawa,  205. 
Mitchell,  Professor,  83. 
Modem  fish-culture,  347. 
Mollychumkemunk  Lake,  181. 
Monk-fish  or  angel-fish,  433. 
Moosehead  Lake,  trout  of,  261. 
Morland,  Thomas,  135. 
Morrison,  Captain,  123, 1 24. 
Mosier,  the  gaffer,  69. 
Mossbunker  or  menhaden,  326. 
Mountain  mullet,  441. 
Mounting  salmon-hooks,  310. 
Mouth,  the,  of  fishes,  34. 
Mullet,  the  golden,  100;   the  striped 

red,  338 ;  the  mountain,  441. 
Musquitoes,  antidote  for,  207. 


Hh 


.48^ 


Index. 


Nerves  of  fishes,  26. 

Nets  employed  in  Lake  fisheries,  317. 

New  York  Bay,  fishing  in,  58. 

Ombre  chevalier,  the,  441. 
Oneida  Lake,  fishes  in,  283, 288. 
Oppian,  the  poet,  19, 111,427. 
Outfit  for  salmon-fishing,  215. 
Ova  of  the  salmon,  securing,  387. 
Owasco  Lake,  fishes  in,  283. 
Oyster  industry,  the,  341. 

Parr,  salmon,  373,  374. 

Pasque  Island,  fishing  at,  76. 

Perch,  the,  287. 

Perch,  the  white,  101. 

Perfume  bait  of  M.  Chars,  37. 

Philosophy,  fish-hook,  185. 

Pickerel,  the  American,  266  ;  skitter- 
ing for,  277;  still-baiting  for,  271. 

Pike,  the  American  pickerel,  206  ;  the 
glass-eyed  or  wall-eyed,  288. 

Pike  family,  the,  429. 

Pike-perch,  the  common,  423. 

Pilot-fish,  the,  425. 

Pine  Creek,  Penn.,  anglers  on,  192. 

Plaice,  the,  431. 

Poachers  and  poaching,  152. 

Poetry  of  angling,  141. 

Poisoning  fish,  34. 

Pompeii,  hook  exhumed  at,  22. 

Porbeagle,  the,  432.  , 

Porgee,  the,  108. 

Porgee,  the  big,  425 ;  the  three-tailed, 
425. 

Porpoise,  the  black,  25. 

Porpus,  the,  25. 

Portugal,  a  fish-pond  in,  39. 

Prerequisites  for  fishing,  22. 

Preserving  food  fishes  fresh,  343. 

Pritchard  Brothers,  184,  212. 

Propagation  of  fishes,  21,  378. 

Propelling  minnow,  the,  298. 

Propulsive  power  of  fishes,  23. 

Pugne  Island,  75. 

Queer  fishes,  439. 

Rapid  River,  trout  fishing  in,  181. 
Rattling  Run,  salmon  fishing  in,  241. 
Ray  family,  the,  433. 
Reels,  64 ;   trout  reels,  172 ;   salmon 

reels,  212. 
Remy,  Joseph,  fish-culturist,  356. 
Rennie,  J^mes,  28,  33. 


Rice  Lake,  the  maskinonge  of,  278. 

Roach,  the,  427. 

Robinson  splice,  the,  159. 

Rockfish  or  wrasses,  111. 

Rockling,  the,  430. 

Rods,  54,  58,  66 ;   modem  splice  for 

fly-rods,  1 59 ;  fly-rods  for  trout,  173 ; 

for  salmon,  208,  212. 
Rogers,  Sir  Walter,  39. 
Ruggles,  Judge  Philo  T.,  30. 
Russell,  Mr.  Willis,  of  Quebec,  214. 
Rusty  dab,  the,  431. 

Salmon  and  trout  family,  429. 

Salmon,  the,  202 ;  outfit  for  salmon 
fishing,  207 ;  departure  for  fishing, 
215  ;  fishing  in  the  St.  John  River, 
218  ;  a  morning's  experience,  234  ; 
natural  history  of,  367  ;  feeding 
young  salmon,  392 ;  salmon-passes, 
ladders,  etc. ,  407. 

Salmon-hatching,  382 ;  securing  the 
ova,  487 ;  Mr.  John  Gillone's  pro- 
cess of  propagating,  388  ;  feeding 
young,  392. 

Salmon,  trolling  for,  in  Scotland,  302.- 

Salmon  leaps,  411. 

"Salmonia,"28. 

"  Salmoniceps"  on  liooks,  187. 

Salt-water  fisheries,  339. 

Saybrook,  49. 

Scabbard-fish,  the,  426. 

Scaling  fish,  instructions  for,  99. 

Scandinavian  charr,  441. 

'Schoodic  Lake,  trout  of,  258. 

Scollops,  trade  in,  340. 

Sea  bass,  the,  106. 

Sea  loach,  the,  430. 

Sea  salmon,  the  common,  429. 

Sea  snipe,  the,  111. 

"Secrets  of  Angling, "  by  J.  Davors,  37. 

Seneca  Lake,  trout  of,  263 ;  black  bass 
in,  282  ;  pike  in,  288. 

Senses  of  fishes,  24. 

Serranus,  the  lettered,  424 ;  the  spined, 
424. 

Shad,  the,  324. 

Sharks,  432. 

Shaw,  Mr.,  of  Scotland,  24. 

Sheepshead,  84  ;  angling  for,  92. 

Shiner,  the,  294. 

Shiner,  the  New  York,  428. 

Sierra,  cero,  or  cerus,  134. 

Silure,  the,  439. 

Silver  or  sea  trout,  255. 


IXDEX. 


483 


Sinker,  the  ponderating,  310. 

Sinkers  for  sheepshead,  88. 

Skaneateles  Lake,  fishes  in,  283. 

Sligo  salmon-stairs,  415. 

Smell  in  fishes,  36. 

Smelt,  the,  102. 

Smelts,  trade  in,  340. 

Smoking  salmon,  statistics  of,  339* 

Smolt,  salmon,  375. 

Smooth  hound,  the,  432. 

Snedicor's,  Oba,  preserve,  158. 

Sole,  the  common,  431. 

"Songs  of  the  Wilderness,"  extract 
from,  234. 

Southern  sea  trout,  82. 

Southside  Club,  158. 

Spanish  mackerel,  156. 

Spawning-boxes,  directions  for,  386, 
392. 

Spawning  times  of  fishes,  406. 

Spearing,  the,  103. 

Spinning  baits,  295. 

Spinning  tackle  for  live  bait,  299. 

Splice,  modern,  for  fly-rods,  159. 

Spuyt;pn  Duyvel  Creek,  bass  fishing  in 
49,  52. 

Squeteague  or  weakfish,  79. 

Squids — forbluefish,  120;  for  Spanish 
mackerel,  131. 

St.  John's  River,  fishing  on,  222. 

Stain,  how  to,  silkworm  gut,  170. 

Statistics  of  Lake  fisheries,  315 ;  of 
mackerel  catches,  323 ;  of  shad  fish 
eries,  325  ;  of  menhaden,  328  ;  of 
salt-water  fisheries,  339. 

Stocking  old  ponds,  393. 

Stoddart,  Thomas  Tod,  on  worm-fish- 
ing for  trout,  194. 

Stoddart's  directions  for  obtaining  silk- 
woi'm  gut,  171. 

Straightening  casting  lines,  175. 

Streaked  or  rock  gurnard,  425. 

Stream,  how  to  fish  a,  1 65. 

Striped  bass,  48.     See  also  Bass. 

Striped  sea  bass,  424. 

Stripping  trout,  391. 

Sturgeon  and  Chimaera  family,  432. 

Sucker,  common  New  York,  428. 

Sulphur  whale,  335. 

Sunfish,  the,  286 ;  the  short  sunfish, 
442. 

Superior,  food  fishes  of  Lake,  315. 

Surmullet,  the  red,  424. 

Swordfish,  the  common,  and  the  In- 
dian, 426. 


Tackle  for  taking  small  bass,  50 ;  for 
kingfish,  97 ;  for  sea  bass,  108 ;  for 
bluefish,  120 ;  for  trouting,  159  ;  for 
salmon,  207;  for  pickerel,  270 ;  for 
maskinonge,  279. 

Taste  in  fishes,  33. 

Tautog  or  blackfish,  113. 

Tautog,  the  American,  111  ;  how  to 
cook  it,  1 14. 

Teeth  of  fishes,  34. 

Tench,  the,  428. 

Thebes,  hook  exhumed  at,  22. 

Thomback  ray,  the,  433. 

Thousand  Islands,  the,  274. 

Thumb-stall,  67. 

Tongue,  the,  of  fishes,  34. 

Tope  or  penny-dog,  432. 

Torpedo,  the  common,  433. 

Torsk,  the,  430. 

' '  Transmutations  of  the  salmon,"  356. 

TrolUng — in  Hell  Gate,  52;  among 
the  Thousand  Islands,  274;  troll- 
ing weather  and  baits,  303 ;  differ- 
ent kinds  of  tackle,  53,  54,  65,  295, 
296,  297,  298,  299. 

Trout,  the  Southern  sea,  82 ;  the 
brook,  146;  fly-fishing  for,  154; 
bait-fishing  for,  189 ;  silver  or  sea, 
255 ;  the  white,  258 ;  the  winni- 
nish,  260 ;  the  red  of  Long  Lake, 
262 ;  of  Seneca  and  Cayuga,  263 ; 
the  Mackinaw,  264  ;  stripping,  391 ; 
feeding  young,  392 ;  stocking  old 
ponds  with,  393 ;  the  New  York 
brook,  429 ;  the  great  lake  trout  of 
Europe,  429. 

Troutlet,  429. 

Trumpet-fish,  11 1. 

Trygon,  the  many-spined,  433. 

Tunny,  the  common,  426. 

Turbot,  the,  431. 

Tusculum,  ancient  fish-ponds  at,  350. 

Umbagog  Lake,  181. 

Umbagog  range  of  lakes,  trout  of,  147. 

Umbrina,  the  bearded,  425. 


Vision  in  fishes,  26. 
Voracity  of  fishes,  42. 

Walcott's  (Dr.)  verses,  43. 
Wall-eyed  or  glass-eyed  pike,  288. 
Walton,  Izaak,  36,  37. 
Weakfish  or  squeteague,  79. 
Webster,  the  late  Hon.  Daniel,  158. 


484 


Index. 


Welch's  (Robert)  rods,  212. 

West  Island,  fishing  at,  69. 

Whale  fishing,  332. 

Whip  or  eagle  ray,  the,  433. 

Whitefish,  the,  290. 

Whitefish,  frozen,  291. 

Whitefish  of  the  Lakes,  429. 

White  salmon  of  Virginia,  424. 

White's  CDr.)  story  of  a  bullfrog,  434. 

White  trout,  the,  258. 

Whiting,  the,  430. 

Wilkes,  George,  fishing  with,  62. 


Winninish,  the,  ^60,  442. 

Wolf-fish,  the,  426. 

Worm-fishing  for  trout,  1 94. 

Wrasse,  the  blue-striped.  111. 

Wrasses  or  rockfish.  111. 

Wright,  Sile,  the  guide  and  gaiFer,  56. 

Xenarchus,  "  the  purple  of,"  20. 

Yellow  perch,  the  American,  424. 

Zodiac,  signs  of  the,  18. 


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